House of Night: My Story
by My Dreams Are My Wings
Summary: This is my version of what would happen if I was to get Marked. I know some of the refrences are the same as the book but I thought I would add in some refrences, and also the storyline may be a bit similar. I hope you enjoy it anyway.
1. Chapter 1

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

My day had been going ok just like a normal day, nothing special had happened. At least that was until Chemistry last period. I had been sitting laughing and messing around with Ellen and a few of the guys, when I started coughing. Ellen looked at me worried and asked if I was alright I just nodded and went back to joking around. Then I froze and looked out into the corridor, there he was the dead guy. When I saw him that's when I got the pounding headache, I was coughing more and more now and everyone was looking worried. I recognized this guy as a vampire, but not just a normal vampire. This guy was a Tracker. He lifted his hand and pointed one of his long white fingers at me then spoke the words most people would dread to hear.  
"Joanne Clarke! Night has chosen thee; thy death will be thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!"  
As he finished saying those words my forehead burst into an explosion of pain, I clutched my head and screamed in pain before I passed out on the floor.

When I came around I was lying on the cold floor of my Chemistry class with Ellen by my side and everyone else crowded around me. All of them had the same expression on their faces, I sat up and spoke. "You all look like you've just seen a ghost!" Everyone all moved away slightly and I stood up and turned to Ellen. "What's wrong?" She just looked at me then shakily said.  
"You got Marked! The tracker came and he Marked you." She then handed me a compact mirror, I looked into it then gasped. There smack bang on the middle of my forehead was the unfilled crescent of a newly marked vampire.  
I was aware of everyone staring at me but I wasn't that bothered by them, I was more concerned now to get to the House of Night, the vampire finishing school. This is where I would spend the next four years and I would either come out of this a fully changed vampire or my body would end up rejecting the change and I would die. I walked over to my desk packed up my things and left the class very quickly, I just couldn't be there I knew I had to leave, get home pack my stuff and get my parents to take me to the House of Night. I ran to the nearest bathrooms and when I got in I just stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself.  
I didn't look like me but yet I did. I still had my shoulder length auburn hair, my deep brown eyes and the freckled that spread across over my nose but now the blue outline of the crescent was added to the mix.  
I swiftly left the bathrooms and ran to my locker, everyone had left for buses and such as the bell had rang during my time in the bathroom. I arrived at my locked turned the key and grabbed my books, jumper and shut the small door. My body racked with a cough and I almost doubled over with the pain that spread though my throat from it.

I quickly left the building and ran to my red mini cooper that I had just received for my 16th birthday. As I walked/ran to the car I heard the faint noise of a certain group of boys and I knew that I didn't have the time to stop and chat with them. I was almost at the car when another cough ripped through my throat and I cursed under my breath because I knew that they had heard me. I didn't see him until I had walked right into him as the sun was too painful for my eyes. I looked up and saw him, Daniel. He looked down and smiled when he saw it was me. "Hey Jo! I thought you had already left." Daniel was my boyfriend or was I should really say, as I knew he wouldn't want to stay with me when he saw the mark on my forehead. I kept my head down with my side fringe covering my mark.  
"Yeah, I was just getting some things from my locker, before getting home." I replied as I suppressed another cough but failed in my attempt to. He put his finger under my chin and lifted my head up so I was now looking at him. I looked at his gorgeous black hair that I would run my hands through and then I looked into his deep blue eyes and I felt safe, the past hour just faded away right there and then. Daniel just looked at me and smiled I always loved his smile.  
He must have sensed something was wrong when he looked towards my mark. He moved his hand towards my fringe and gently moved it towards one side so now my mark was in full view. By this time the rest of his friends had gone and it was just him and I left in the parking lot. His hand dropped back down and he was looking at me lost for words, I slowly started backing away towards my car and shouted over my shoulder "I'm sorry! I'll call you tonight and explain. I love you!"

Then I climbed into my car as another cough sprouted up my throat and then started to sob. I put on the baseball cap that was left in my car by my brother and the sunglasses I always kept in the door on the driver's side of the car. I turned the keys and started off towards my house, not knowing what to expect. I turned the radio on and 'Need You Now' by Lady Antebellum started to play and I sobbed harder just thinking of how I need Daniel and his safe loving arms wrapped around me. The song ended and so did my sobs but the sobs just turned into those small sniffles you get when you start to calm down after a major crying session. The coughs kept on coming and worse and worse each time they crept up so I sped up to get to my house.  
I finally reached my house after what seemed like hours, I parked in the space next to my dad's car and grabbed my bag and climbed out the car and locked it. I walked through the front door to the calming sounds of my mum clattering away in the kitchen preparing for dinner, the rustle of my dad in the living room reading the paper and the thumping and banging of my little brothers Alec and Cameron playing the Wii in the game room. I ran up the stairs with my bag and threw it down on my bed, and then I grabbed my blue suitcase from under my bed and started grabbing things and putting them into the case.

My clothes went in, my books, make-up, perfume, the money that I had been saving up. After my blue case was filled and zipped up I had to grab my second case and shoved the rest of my belongings that I wanted to take with me into the case.  
I picked up the first case and as quietly as I could, I took it downstairs and outside to my car where it got shoved into the boot I then went back for the second case and done the same with that. Then I walked back into the house with my fringe covering my mark and walked into the living room, my mum had obviously finished doing stuff in the kitchen and she was now sitting on the sofa flicking through the T.V channels.  
She looked up when I walked in and smiled, but that soon faltered when she saw how depressed and ill I looked. Another cough snuck up on me and that's when mum got really concerned. She flew up and went to move my hair out of the way to check my temperature but I was too weak to protest, so she proceeded to move my fringe and that's when she saw the fresh mark that had been placed on my forehead only an hour and a half ago.

"Have you... Have you been marked?" she asked. As she asked this my dad suddenly lost interest in the paper and was now looking straight at me.  
"Yes." I answered and started on a new round of sobs. My mum just grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. "I need to get to the House of Night now mum," She just looked at me with a sad and panicked look on her face. "otherwise my body will reject the change. I need to get there now, I have everything I need packed and it's in my car I just need you and dad to come with me. Please?" I looked between my mum and dad and they both had pained expressions on their faces as if they were losing me for good.  
"Ok, Joanne. Get in your car we'll get your brothers and follow behind you." My dad said. I hugged him and went out to my car and got in started the engine just as my dad started his.

Then I left the house I had always known to go to my new home the House of Night.

* * *

If I get enough good reviews from people and you want me to post more chapters for it I will. But the may take awhile as I have school and such. xx

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	2. Chapter 2

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

I arrived at the House of Night twenty minutes later with my parents and little brothers in the car behind. We parked and I got out the car and opened the trunk, I pulled out both the suitcases and put them on the ground, my dad walked over and grabbed one while giving me a small smile and Alec and Cameron fought over who wanted to take the other case. I was walking towards the main entrance when a flawless woman appeared from behind one of the magnificent marble pillars. She gracefully walked over to me and my family and greeted us with a warm welcoming smile. "Hello, welcome to the House of Night! My name is Fiona, and I am the High Priestess. We are very happy to accept you into our community Joanne." she spoke with a velvety smooth voice. I looked at her and had no words come out but luckily my dad spoke and started firing out questions.  
"Are we able to visit her? Will she be okay living here?" he had a panicked tone to his voice but Fiona cut him off before he could ramble on and start talking utter nonsense.  
"Mr Clarke, yes you will be able to visit Joanne during her years at the House of Night and yes she will be okay living here. " The whole time she was speaking I could not stop looking at he in awe. I was in awe of her beauty, personality and grace. She was a tall, slim woman with black hair that had blonde highlight streaked throughout, and hazel eyes that could bore into your soul.

I was brought out of my entrancement when Fiona started talking about getting me settled into my dorm and that it was time for my family to leave. This was when I finally spoke up. "Can I say goodbye please?" I asked timidly.  
"Of course you can, young fledgling." She responded with that velvety smooth voice.  
I walked over to my mum and hugged her while she started to cry. After all I was her baby. I started to choke up so I quickly said bye then moved onto my dad. He grabbed me into one of his famous bear hugs and I couldn't control myself I started to sob. I said my goodbyes to him as well then moved onto my two favourite guys in the world: my little brothers. I started with Cameron; he was the middle child only being four years younger than me. I looked at him with his light brown hair and crystal blue eyes.I looked him right in the eye and said,  
"Your now the oldest in the house. I need you to look after Mum and Dad for me and Alec, look out for him be the best big brother ever. Can you do that for me?" he looked at me with tears glazing his blue eyes and nodded. I grabbed him in a hug and kissed his head. The finally I moved onto my baby brother, Alec. Alec was only eight and he was the sweetest boy you would ever meet. He had dark brown hair and green eyes, he was really cute and I knew just by looking at him now that he would be a ladies' man later in life. I bent down to his height and spoke to him with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat.  
"Alec I want you to do something for me ok?" He nodded "I want you to be a big boy and not cry, because you'll come visit me. Also I want you to be a really good boy for mum and dad, don't fight with Cameron. If you need or want to talk to me you can always phone me." As I was finished speaking he ploughed me over with a massive hug and I hugged back but peeled away before I wouldn't be able to let go.

I stood up to my full height and looked over my family. I smiled and blew kisses and waved goodbye as they clambered into the silver people carrier that was our family car. My dad then turned the car and drove out the parking lot and towards what used to be my home.  
I turned around with tears in my eyes and looked at Fiona, grabbed my cases and started walking behind her as she led me into the main courtyard. She walked passed all these large marble pillars and glass stained windows. We walked by classes and offices then some large doors to which lead to the cafeteria. We then arrived in front of another door, and Fiona turned to me and spoke. "This is the girl's dormitory. I will take you up to your dorm and then you will be left but you have a roommate who can help you get settled." And with that she opened the door and led me in. What I found was a lounge area with love seats and armchairs that were all grouped in front of flat screen T.V's, a doorway which lead to a small kitchen area. Fiona then led me up some stairs to small hallways that held the doors to lead to the dorm rooms.  
She stopped in front of a door that had the number 18 on it and knocked on the door. The person, who opened the door, was a small girl who had dark brown hair and was very pretty and her mark just enhanced the prettiness of her. She looked to Fiona then bowed, and then looked at me with a giant smile. Then she greeted us. "Merry meet High Priestess. Merry meet..." she trailed off not knowing my name.  
"Joanne." I told her.  
"Hi Joanne. I'm Kelsey, welcome to your new dorm!" She smiled again.

After Fiona had left me with Kelsey to get settled in, I walked into the dorm to find it was a nice homely room that had two beds, two wardrobes, shelves on each side of the walls and other necessities. I unpacked as Kelsey asked me questions to get to know me and I reciprocated. When I finished unpacking all my stuff I quickly sent a text to my mum to tell her that I got settled in ok. I got a text back saying she was happy and would see me at the next parents visit. Kelsey asked if I would like to go down to the lounge area and to meet her friends so I accepted. We walked into the lounge and to a red love seat and armchairs, where a boy and two girls where sitting.  
The boy had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes and had a very nice tan. The girls that were sitting on the love seat, looked flawless, very pretty, one had brown hair that was just past her shoulders and had a dark complexion and the other girl had blonde hair that was just above her shoulders and had a lighter complexion than the other girl. Kelsey walked over and sat down on the love seat at the end and motioned for me to follow. I walked over and all eyes were on me. Kelsey introduced me and then the others started introducing themselves. The girls went first. The darker coloured girl went first.  
"Hi. My names Shaunee and this is my twin..." the blonde finished her sentence.  
"Erin! Nice to meet you Joanne." I looked at them a bit weirdly. Then the boy spoke up to explain.  
"They aren't really twins as you can see but as they think alike and finish each other's sentences all the time we just call them the twins because it's actually as if they are twins. I'm Craig by the way."

After getting to know the gang I felt that this place could actually become a home. We were laughing and joking around as if we had known each other for years, which is what it felt like. We were sitting watching Project Runway when my phone started ringing, the sound of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" cutting through the room. I looked at my new friends and explained that I would be back. I stood up and took myself outside the lounge to take the phone call. I looked at the caller ID and saw Daniels name flash up, I hit accept and put the phone to my ear.  
"Hey Danny" I greeted  
"Hey Jo," he replied back  
"So what's up?" I asked  
"Well first my girlfriend leaves me in the parking lot at school confused and hurt and now she tries to make it seem like she forgot me! So what happened earlier? I saw you and you had that mark and then you just leave me without explaining!" He stated starting to sound hurt and angry.  
"I got marked in Chemistry. When you saw the mark I knew I had to leave because I didn't know what you would say. I thought you would call me a freak or whatever just like everyone else does when someone gets marked!" I said back  
"Do you really think I would have done that? I love you I wouldn't have said anything like that." He retaliated sounding hurt.  
"Well no but I thought you would have. I thought you would have freaked out and ran when you saw it. Do you know I cried when I got in my car because I wanted to face you but I felt that I couldn't? I just wanted you to hold me and say everything was going to be ok. I want you to know that I love you but I think..." I cut off because I was starting to cry, I couldn't tell him that I could possibly die over the phone.  
"Hey, babe what is it? You think what?" he asked sounding worried  
"Daniel, you do know that there is a possibility that I could die right? I may not survive the change."  
"..Yeah, I know babe." He said sounding as if he was choking up  
"You'll get teased you know? That your girlfriend's now a vampire." I told him starting to get serious.  
"I don't care what people think! I love you and have done since we were twelve!"  
"It will be hard to keep up our relationship, that's why it pains me to say but I think we should break up..." I stated breaking off and starting to cry  
"Joanne, no! We can work through this please! I love you.." he broke off starting to cry "Sleep on it and think about it first babe, please?"  
"Fine Danny, I'll sleep on it. I love you. Bye" I choked out  
"I love you too, don't forget that! Bye" He hung up after that.

I wiped my eyes and slid down against the wall and sobbed more thinking about Daniel, mum, dad, Alec and Cameron, and most of all my new life ahead.

* * *

I know I said I was gonna post when I got reviews but I have so many ideas in my head I just had to put up the second chapter. Tell me what you think please.

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	3. Chapter 3

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

Last night had been hard to say the least. It was my first night in a new place and I had to have that heart breaking conversation with Daniel. I woke up in a good mood; I was still getting used to the schedule of being awake during the night hours and sleeping during the day. I sleepily pulled on my slippers and stood up walking over to the small adjoining bathroom me and Kelsey shared. I looked at myself in the mirror and was still not used to seeing the blue unfilled crescent. I stripped off and climbed into the shower letting the hot water relax me. While I was in the shower I heard Kelsey starting to wake up and rummage around the room obviously waiting for me to get out of the shower.

I finished off and pulled a towel around me then emerged from the bathroom to see Kelsey.  
"Morning Joanne. Have a good sleep?" she asked in her cheery manner.  
"Yeah I had an ok sleep considering what happened last night." I replied. After the phone call with Daniel, I had walked in and sat back down in my seat not saying anything, just staring at the T.V. Craig had asked what was wrong and I refused to cry as I retold what I had said to Daniel. Kelsey had walked over and hugged me and the twins gave sad smiles.  
I was brought back from recalling last night when Kelsey started repeating my name and waving a hand in front of my face.  
"Sorry, what were you saying Kelsey?" I asked  
"I was saying, have you heard back from Daniel?" she answered  
"No, I haven't I didn't look at my phone when I woke up. I might just leave it for a few days to take my mind off of it. I'm more concerned about getting used to school here and the classes and such."  
"That reminds me, I have you schedule here, must of forgotten to give it to you last night" she handed me a sheet of paper.

_1__st__ hour – Vampyre Sociology 101. Rm. 215. Prof. Fiona  
2__nd__ hour – Drama 101 Performing Arts Centre. Prof. Nolan  
or  
Sketching 101. Rm. 312. Prof. Doner  
or  
Intro to Music. Rm. 314. Prof. Vento  
3__rd__ hour – Lit 101. Rm. 214. Prof. Penthesilea  
4__th__ hour – Fencing. Gymnasium. Prof. D. Lankford _

_LUNCH BREAK_

_5__th__ hour – Spanish 101. Rm. 216. Prof. Garmy  
6__th__ hour – Intro to Equestrian Studies. Field House. Prof. Lenobia_

I looked over the schedule and notice that there were only two classes that I was used to. Spanish and Lit. I looked over at Kelsey and she looked pretty excited. "What's wrong with you? Why so excited?" I asked her.  
"I'm excited cause I'm in most of your classes and so is Craig. Now come on get changed into your uniform and let's go get food. I'm away for a quick shower so be ready!" She said strictly.  
I saluted her as a joke and with a laugh she turned and went into the bathroom. I heard the water start to run and went to my wardrobe where there were a bunch of clothes with the third former emblem on them.  
I chose a deep purple silk knit sweater, a cotton blouse and a pair of black skinny jeans. I threw the clothes on and started to work on my hair; I scraped it back and put it into a high pony tail with my fringe lying over my forehead. I put on a light blush, some mascara and lip-gloss. Then I went over to where I had left my black Converse and pulled them on. By the time I was fully ready and about to grab the books Fiona had left into my backpack; Kelsey was emerging from the bathroom fully ready. She was wearing the same as me but instead of skinny jeans she had on a skirt that stopped mid-thigh and she had on a pair of Ugg boots. She smiled when she saw me in my clothes and said, "You look good Joanne."  
I smiled and said thanks. We grabbed our backpacks and left the dorm going down the stairs two at a time. We reached the kitchen and saw Shaunee and Erin sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal each. They looked up as we walked in and smiled at us. Kelsey went to a cupboard and grabbed a granola bar while I opted for a bowl of cereal as well. I sat down on the other side of Erin. We all ate and chatted and then Craig walked in greeting us all.

After another ten minutes when we had all finished we each grabbed our bags and made our way out of the girls' dormitories and towards the main school building. As we walked I looked in amazement at the building. As I hadn't managed to look around last night due to certain incidents. Whilst we were walking the others were talking but I was too busy absorbed in my own world, taking in the beautiful scenery, that I didn't notice a boy walking in front of me. It was too late I we had already walked into each other and were no on the ground from the collision.  
"Ouch!" I exclaimed holding my arm. The boy stood up and held a hand out for me, to help me up. I grabbed his hand and was pulled up to my full height.  
"I'm so sorry!" we both said at the same time. We laughed and apologised again but not at the same time.  
"Sorry I wasn't paying attention. I'm Joanne." I held my hand out for him to shake and he grabbed it in the normal vampyre handshake – grabbing the others forearm.  
"I'm Blair. So you're the new fledgling. Nice to meet you." He said. The gang were standing a little bit away from us. So I shouted over to them.  
"You guys go ahead I'll catch up!" They all nodded and replied with their okay and started walking again.  
I looked back at Blair and took in his appearance. He had black hair that was long but not a weird long for a boy, blue eyes and he was quite tall. He looked back at me as if he was doing the same as I was. I finally broke the silence.  
"Sorry again, I wasn't paying attention. I was too busy taking in the building."  
"That's ok. So you're new then. Want me to walk you to your first class, so you don't get lost?" he asked.  
"Yeah that would be nice. Thanks." And with that we took off in the direction my friends had. We started off in a comfortable silence but Blair soon broke the silence and started to talk.  
"So, did your parents freak when you told them?" He asked.  
"No, surprisingly. My mum was really upset though that I was leaving. My dad was ok but upset and my little brother Cameron was alright but my youngest brother Alec didn't really understand what was going on." I answered "What about your parents?"  
"My parents kinda freaked but they got over it. My big brother was a bit freaked as well."  
"So how long have you been here?" I questioned  
"A few months now. You get used to it don't worry and it looks like you've already got friends so that's a plus. So you have Vamp Sociology first then?" he asked  
"Yeah, Kelsey and Craig are in the class with me." I replied  
"Well so am I." At this he smiled and I couldn't help but smile as well.

We walked and talked more until we reached the class with five more minutes before the class was due to start. I walked in and saw Kelsey and Craig at the back of the class with two empty seats left. I turned and asked Blair if he wanted to sit with us and he accepted. We were sitting and chatting, then the bell rang and Fiona gracefully walked through the door and stood at the desk up at the front of the class. She started to explain that there was a new student (me) and that someone would need to explain to me the cabinet system and show me where mine was. She then called upon Blair and he led me to the back of the class and started to explain.  
"At the House of Night we don't have a locker system, like at regular schools. First hour is our homeroom and we can come back here at anytime during the day to get anything you need, just like you would with a locker. Here's the sociology book." He explained and with that we went back to our desks and started what everyone else was doing.

It was halfway through the lesson when I got the note. I looked to my left and saw Kelsey, who was smiling and motioning for me to open the note. I opened it and in her small, neat handwriting its said;  
_"You know I think Blair likes you, he keeps sneaking glances at you." _  
I read it and then looked to my right where Blair was sitting, and sure enough he had been looking at me but had quickly turned away, back to looking at his textbook. I wrote out my message on underneath her note and threw it back. My message was.  
_"I think your right but I have a boyfriend remember; Daniel. "_  
She quickly read it then scribbled down a note and passed it back.  
_"Yeah I do remember but I thought you were gonna break up with him? Let's talk after school about it 'kay"_  
I read this then wrote down my reply saying okay, passed it back then went back to my work.

And that was how my first lesson at the House of Night went. I couldn't wait for the rest of the day to come.

* * *

There is chapter three! Please review, give me ideas or plots anything if you want and I will try to add it in.

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	4. Chapter 4

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

The rest of the day went by smoothly. I chose Drama 101 as my elective and when I walked into the class I discovered that Blair was in that class as well! Drama was really good and Prof. Nolan was very nice. After Drama 101, I had Lit 101 which was ok, Craig was in my Lit class and then it was time for Fencing. I walked into the gymnasium and saw Kelsey and Blair on the far side of the hall. I made my way over to Kelsey and we chatted for awhile before Prof. Lankford flew in threw the door. He began talking about how to use the sword (which he then corrected me and said it was called an foil) he told us what we were to do and then put us into pairs. Shockingly, as you may have guessed, I was paired up with Blair.

He smiled as he walked over to me. When he reached me he bowed as we were instructed to do, and I bowed back, we then began to practice the moves we were told to do and all the while I could feel a pair of eyes on me. I looked over and saw Kelsey giving me this smile that said "you so like him" and then she mouthed something at me. I was too busy trying to see what she was saying that I didn't notice Blair doing one of the moves. I was too late to block whatever move he was doing. In one swift moment I was on the floor. I hit my head really hard and blacked out.

I woke up but I wasn't present in my body. I was looking down on the scene, I could see my body lying on the floor, with the class crowded around me, Kelsey was by my side and so was Blair. Dragon was walking away, probably going to get the nurse or someone. That was what I saw before I was pulled somewhere else. I literally blinked and then I was in this beautiful meadow. The grass was a luscious green and there was a lake over a hill. There were trees of all kinds and tons of flowers. I saw the most beautiful woman I have ever seen was sitting at the top of the hill on a large slab of stone. She had long flowing jet black hair, a pale complexion and was wearing a long white dress. When she saw me she rose from the slab and started to walk towards me, I walked towards her as well and we met in the middle. She cupped my cheek with her hand, even though her pale complexion made her look cold, her hand was warm. She looked me in the eyes and spoke.  
_"Daughter, I am so glad to have been given the chance to meet you in person. I am Nyx, the vampyre Goddess."_ She spoke in calm, clear, smooth voice. I just looked at her lost for words. I mean come on I was in the presence of a Goddess, scratch that my Goddess.  
"Why am I here? I mean I hit my head and woke up here basically." I asked confusion thick in my voice.  
_"You are here, my daughter, because I called you here. I have called you here to give you a message. Just remember, darkness does not always equate to evil, just as light does not always bring good. Also Joanne Clarke, Daughter of Night, I name you my eyes and ears in the world today, a world where good and evil are struggling to find balance." I cut her off_  
_"But I'm sixteen. I can't be the one who does this!"_ I stated  
_"Oh but you can Daughter. I know you can because I believe in you."_ She calmly said. After she said that she removed her hand from my cheek and moved forward to place a kiss on my forehead where my mark lay.

I woke up on the cold gymnasium floor, with Kelsey watching me and she flustered around trying to get Dragon's attention. Blair was crouched down on my other side and he grabbed me in a hug. When he pulled back he looked at my forehead and gave me a weird look, Kelsey came back with Dragon and they both gave me weird looks as well. Fiona walked in and looked at my forehead as well. I was getting slightly worried now as everyone kept looking at my forehead.  
"What's wrong? Why are you all looking at me weirdly?" I asked  
"Well Joanne," Fiona started "your mark has been filled in, but no other tattoos have been placed around it. Your mark shouldn't be filled in right now as you are only a young fledgling. Your mark only gets filled in when you have completed the Change." She explained  
"Nyx." I murmured under my breath  
"Pardon?" Fiona asked  
"Nyx, the Goddess. Whilst I was unconscious she called me to her. She spoke to me and when we were finished talking she kissed my forehead where my mark was and then I woke up and everyone was looking at my mark." I told her  
"Well, that is quite a story, I believe you. Well I shall check you over in the infirmary then let you get back to your classes. Blair would you help me bring her to the infirmary?" She asked  
"Of course High Priestess." He answered then he helped me to my feet and kept a hold of me as I was not fully steady, then we set off behind Fiona toward the infirmary. As we walked Blair was apologising profusely for knocking me down. I kept saying that it was ok and that I should have been paying attention.

We reached the infirmary and Blair helped me sit down on the small bed. He waited for me while Fiona checked me over. She let me sit till the end of fourth hour and allowed Blair to just wait with me. The bell went to signal the end of fourth hour and Blair and I made our way out of the infirmary and to the cafeteria. We walked in and I saw Kelsey and the gang at a table. She walked over to me and started firing questions at me. Asking if I was ok and what it was like to see the Goddess. I answered her questions as we got our lunch and walked back to the table. The gang were all staring at my mark but trying to make it as obvious as my fencing class had. I didn't mind if they were staring at it because they were my friends and they just had to get used to the fact that it was filled in. We got through lunch just chatting and laughing, then we finished so the gang thought it would be good to show me the courtyard with the time we had left. We were in the courtyard sitting on a bench when my phone bleeped signalling a text message. I looked at the screen and saw Daniel's name flash up. I opened the text and read it. It said;  
_"Hey babe, how is your first day at vamp school going? Miss you xx"_  
I punched in my reply of  
_"Hey, it's going ok, got knocked on my butt in Fencing and my mark got filled in :S but otherwise it's going great. Got new friends and the classes are ok. Miss you too."_  
I hit send and then went back to my friends. I explained to my friends that I had to go and get my Spanish books from my homeroom and left to my Vampyre Sociology class.

As I was walking I heard someone shouting my name. I spun around and saw Blair running to catch up with me. He reached me just as my phone bleeped again. I looked at the text and it was from Daniel again.  
_"Are you ok! Your mark got filled in? Don't you need to change for that to happen?"_  
I sent a text explaining everything and then went back to Blair who was patiently waiting for me to finish.  
"Hey."He said "so who was that?"  
"Oh that was my boyfriend, Daniel. He was just texting to find out how my day has been going and to tell me that he misses me." I said. When I said "boyfriend" his smile faltered but he regained his composure. I continued on to explain. "I mean I miss him to but I know I have to break up with him. I can't do this to him. Ruin his life because I'm now a vampyre and he's still a human. I told him last night that I wanted to break up but he convinced me to think about it before I do. So I'm gonna think it over first then decide." At this his face brightened a bit. "Sorry to load that on you."  
"Its alright I don't mind. It's the least I can do after knocking you down earlier." He laughed and I laughed as well. I had only known Blair for a few hours but I was already so comfortable with him. I felt that I would be able to tell him my darkest secret and he wouldn't tell a single soul. We continued on our way to the homeroom class all the while talking away between the two of us.

We reached the class and I walked to the back to my cabinet, and pulled out my books from my bag and switched them with my Spanish 101. I walked back to the door where Blair had been waiting the whole time. "You ready?" he asked. I nodded. "I'll walk you to your Spanish class the bells about to go anyway."  
"Ok, so what was your life like before coming to the House of Night?" I asked  
"It was alright. I had an average life. I only had my older brother and my mum and dad. My grandparents live in Europe. I was quite a popular person in school but I kept my head down as well as having fun." He looked at me and smiled again "What about you?"  
"Well my life before this was ok I guess. I lived with my mum, dad and little brothers. Got good grades in school, was really popular not that I let myself get big headed. I started going out with Daniel freshman year and we have been ever since. " I answered. By this time we had reached the class. I thought I would just go for it and I leant in and kissed his cheek as the bell rang. I pulled away and walked into the class leaving him stunned in the hallway.

I knew that I would have to call Daniel later and break it to him gently that we couldn't be together anymore but right now I was going to concentrate on the rest of my first day.

* * *

Chapter Four now up! Now please send reviews and tell me ideas you have for later chapters and I will try and add them in! xx

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	5. Chapter 5

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

The final bell rang. My first official day at the House of Night was over. I met up with Kelsey just outside the stables, and first thing she done was grab me in a hug.  
"Ohmygosh! You finished your first day. Plus your mark is filled in!" She started babbling and I just laughed as we walked to the cafeteria for dinner. As we were walking Craig joined us who was then followed by the twins. We reached the cafeteria and got our food then made a bee line for the table we had used at lunch. I sat down at the end of the bench next to Kelsey. Craig sat on her other side and the twins sat on the opposite side.  
"So what's up with the mark, again?" Shaunee asked  
"I honestly don't know when I got knocked unconscious earlier Nyx called me to her. She started talking to me, saying that I was her eyes and ears in the world today. Whatever that means. She then kissed my mark, I woke up and it was filled in." I explained  
"Wow! That's so cool. You got to meet the Goddess." Craig exclaimed "What was it like? What did she look like?"  
"Well it was weird, like I didn't feel special enough to be in her presence. She was beautiful though. She had long flowing jet black hair, she had a pale complexion but not deathly white and she was wearing a long, floaty white dress." I described awe and amazement in my voice.

We continued talking through dinner and as we were leaving the cafeteria I caught a glimpse of Blair watching me from across the room. We started to make our way back to the dorm, to catch Project Runway (that's practically the only show the twins will watch). Yet again as I was having a good time with my new friends my phone started to belt out the starting notes of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream". I knew it was Daniel because I hadn't mentioned anything earlier about my decision on whether or not to break up with him.  
I broke away from my friends and wandered over to a tall tree by a wall and hit the accept button.  
"Hi." I timidly answered  
"Hey, so tell me how was your first day?" He started  
"It was great, I managed to get to know my new friends more and met loads of new people. Got knocked on my ass in Fencing, met the vampyre Goddess and had my mark filled in!" I exclaimed  
"Is that all good or was some of that bad?" He asked  
"It's all good..." I broke off not knowing how to start the next part of the conversation – the break up!  
"Babe, what's wrong?"  
"Listen Danny, I made a decision. We need to break up. My life is going to be so hectic now that I'm a vampyre. It would put a strain on our relationship. I know we have been together since freshman year. I just think it's time we finished. It's not that I want to; it's just that it would be better. I still love you and I always will. It breaks my heart doing this because I love you so much..." I broke off starting to cry down the phone to my first love.  
"Look Jo," He started in that special voice he reserved for me only "I get it really I do and it breaks my heart, but we'll always love each other right?"  
"Of course, if it was different. If I was still human or you were to be Marked then maybe we could have stayed together but I think it's for the best." I choked out  
"We can still stay in touch, yeah? I can come with your folks to the visits?" He asked sounding choked  
"Of course Danny." I replied "I love you even though we may be broken up, I do."  
"I love you to babe. See you at the parents visit thing then"  
"You bet!" I finished. We said our goodbye then hung up.

I stayed out by the tree crying for a while. I had texted Kelsey that I wasn't going to be back at the dorm for a while. That I needed space after the call to Danny. I just sat underneath that tree crying till my head started to form a headache. I didn't realise anyone was there till they sat down next to me and put their arms around me in a hug. I lifted my head to find Blair.  
"You ok? I was on my way back to my dorm when I saw you here, I moved closer and heard that you were crying." He whispered. I nodded and started to speak up in a small quiet voice.  
"I broke up with Daniel. He understood why, because we are gonna become too far apart now. We decided it's for the best, yeah we'll always love each other but we just can't be together anymore. We're too different now. You know what I mean? If I'm gonna date again, it'll probably be with another vampyre. Someone that gets what I'm going through. Not that Danny didn't it's just that he didn't understand it from my view." I paused to catch my breath. I then looked up at Blair and he was looking at me with eyes full of emotion.

I just sat underneath that tree wrapped up in Blair's jacket and his arms around me. The cold didn't affect me as much now that I was a vampyre but it felt nice. Being in Blair's arms felt nice, right. I always felt comfortable in Daniel's arms and like I belonged and now that's what I was feeling here in Blair's. We were in a comfortable silence and as it got later (or earlier) I thanked the Goddess that it was Saturday tomorrow. I was about to start to gather myself to go back to my dorm when Blair spoke up.  
"I know you just got out a relationship and all. Anyway I was wondering if you maybe want to go into town with me tomorrow, you know get your mind off things. We are allowed to go out we just have to cover up our marks with this special make up thing. We can do whatever you want. Go see a movie, shop, grab a coffee or have a walk in the park. So what do you say?" He suggested  
"Yeah Blair, I'd really like that. We can use my car to get into town. Walk me back to my dorm?" I stood up and held my hand out for him to grab. He held my hand and I helped him up. I thought that when he was up he would have let go of my hand but he didn't. We walked in a comfortable silence holding hands. We reached the girls dorms and I went to give him back his jacket but he just told me to keep it till tomorrow. We said bye and I kissed his cheek again. I stayed out by the door until he vanished towards the boys dorms.

I opened the door and glanced through the lounge, I didn't see any sign of the gang. I figured they had all gone to their rooms. I went through to the kitchen grabbed some orange soda, a few granola bars then made my way to my room. I walked through the door and saw Kelsey on her bed reading a book. She looked up when she heard the door click into place. She stayed silent until I had put my food and drink down and taken off Blair's jacket. When I had done that she gave me a sad smile and a hug. We let go and I went to the bathroom to wipe off all the makeup I had put on at the start of the day. It was the first time I had seen my reflection since this morning. I looked at my mark and saw that it was indeed now filled in. I thought it looked weird but I knew I would get used to it. When I was finished, I walked back out now in my pyjamas with my hair hanging loosely around my shoulders. I sat on my bed and opened my soda when my phone bleeped twice, signalling that I had two new messages. I picked the phone up and saw that one was from Blair and the other from my mum.

_Blair:  
"Hey can't wait till tomorrow. Sweet dreams! x __:)" _

_Mum:  
"Hey sweetie, heard about you and Dan. Sorry, call me to tell me about your first day!"_

I sent a reply to Blair saying pretty much the same thing. I then called my mum and spent the next hour getting her up-to-date with everything that had happened since I arrived. Right from meeting my new friends to my mark getting filled in then about the break up. It was nice to hear her voice, it was comforting. After we had spoken she handed the phone to my dad and we chatted. I finished talking to dad then went to talk to Cameron, who told me all about his day (something he never really done before) he told me about what he was doing in school right up to blurting out to me that he now had a girlfriend. I told him that I was happy for him and he then passed the phone to my baby brother. Alec talked to me about nothing in particular. He was just telling me stuff about his day and that he missed me. It was getting late, I explained to Alec that I had to get to bed so they all shouted bye and goodnights through the phone and hung up. After that Kelsey and I went to bed.

I drifted off think about my family, Daniel but most of all my day tomorrow and how I would be spending it with Blair.

* * *

I present you with Chapter 5! Please review and if you have been reading this story can you maybe suggest it to other people! I would like more reviews

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	6. Chapter 6

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

My alarm rang in my ear and 4 o'clock in the afternoon to humans but in the morning to me. I slowly sat up in my bed, and looked around the room bleary eyed. I climbed out the bed and went to the bathroom. I emerged from the bathroom half an hour later. All fresh and ready to go, except I had to pick out my clothes. I walked over to the wardrobe that was mine and opened it. I looked through my clothes and picked out a cute outfit. I chose a blue vest top with a pair of jean shorts and threw a pair of leggings on underneath. I then choose my favourite pair of high-tops that were purple with black and gold. I grabbed my grey cardigan and purse.

I quietly made my way through the lounge when my phone vibrated. I looked at the screen and saw a now very familiar name flash up.

_Blair:  
"I'm just outside the girls dorms" _

I didn't bother replying and instead made my way through to the kitchen, grabbed a granola bar and walked out through the lounge and out the door. I saw him by the corner and ran over to him. I crashed into him and he looked down and laughed. We started walking towards the car park where my car was. We made small talk as we walked, we reached the car and got in. I sat in the driver's seat with Blair in the passenger side. I pulled my compact out my bag and applied the cover up that I had been given for when I wanted to go out amongst humans. I finished and started the car. Blair had been talking about something for the past ten minutes but I had zoned out. I didn't mean to deliberately, it's just that the last time I had a guy in my car it had been Daniel, so I was just trying to get used to the fact that now there would be other guys in my car. I was snapped back to reality when we stopped at a red light and Blair asked.  
"So what do you want to do today?"  
"Well, I want to go to Starbucks and a few shops. Is that ok with you?" I asked  
"Yeah that's cool with me. I want to swing by the music store and a few clothes shops. I need a few new tops and jumpers."

When we reached town and got parked, it was 5 o'clock. We went to Starbucks first and I got a chocolate latte while Blair opted for a black coffee. After Starbucks we headed for the music store, whilst in there I browsed through my normal music while Blair had gone off somewhere to find an album he had said. I was walking to the register when I walked into someone. I was knocked flat on my ass for the second time in just under a week. I looked up and into the familiar pair of blue eyes that I used to dream about. I stepped back and saw Daniel; I was shocked to say the least.  
"Uh, Daniel! What a surprise, I didn't expect to see you in town so late." I said falling over my words slightly  
"Yeah, well I got home from school and mum need some stuff from town so I offered." He looked into my eyes "It's good to see you Joanne, we didn't really get to say a proper goodbye so I guess this could be it."  
"Yeah it could." I smiled and hugged him; my head fitting into the crook of his neck just like always. It was at this point that Blair walked over.  
"What's going on?" He asked  
"Blair! This is Daniel, you know my ex-boyfriend." I smiled and said.  
"Hey." He stuck his hand out for Danny to shake. Daniel shook his hand then turned to me.  
"It was great to see you Jo. I guess I'll see you around maybe?" He asked  
"Yeah maybe." I smiled. He turned and walked out the shop and I turned back to Blair with a smile.

After the music store, and getting some new clothes we decided to head back to the car. It was now after 8 o'clock; everyone would probably still be asleep unless they had decided to go out like Blair and I had. We loaded up my car with our bags and made our way back to the House of Night. I parked the car and we climbed out grabbing our bags from the boot. Blair helped me carry my bags even though he had his own, we reached the girls dorm and I took my bags that he had.  
"So, this was fun. I'd really like it if we could do something like this again. Maybe not going shopping though." I suggested  
"Yeah, I was going to ask you something earlier but then you bumped into Daniel. I didn't think it was right to ask after you had seen him..." He trailed off  
"Well, ask me now." I said  
"Ok. Well, Joanne do you maybe, wanna go out with me?" He asked looking at me hesitantly.  
I stopped right there. Blair was asking me out! From what I had seen, he was probably the hottest guy on the whole of the school grounds; and he had just asked me out! **ME!** Joanne the new girl. The one he had only known for not even more than a day! I stuttered out my answer of;  
"Yes!" I laughed and hugged him, both of us dropping our bags in the process.

After we had gathered our bags back up, I kissed Blair on the cheek, thanked him for a great day and headed into the girls dorms promising to meet up with him later. I walked through the room door with a massive smile across my face that reached from ear to ear. Kelsey was lying on her bed on her stomach with her headphones in and reading a magazine. She looked up when she heard the thump of my many bags against the floor.  
"Why you so happy my dear?" She asked whilst taking her headphones off.  
"Well, first, I'm not happy; I'm ecstatic! Second wouldn't you be if the hottest guy on campus just asked you out after spending the morning with you?" I questioned, all the while watching her facial expression.  
"OhMyGoddess! Blair asked you out!" she screamed while hugging me and jumping up and down.  
"Yeah he did, I'm meeting up with him later by our tree." I said  
"Your tree?" she asked confused. Blair had asked where we could meet up later and I suggested the tree we had sat at the night before, blurting it that it was our tree.  
"Yeah, it was the tree that he found me sitting at last night, so I suggested that it could now be classed as our tree." I replied shyly. We sat in the dorm till after 10 o'clock at night (morning for us). I showed her all my lovely purchases and managed to catch her up on all my drama. I hadn't even been at the school two full days and I already had so much drama. Kelsey said she was going down to the lounge to watch a movie with the twins and Craig; she asked if I wanted to come. I agreed saying it would be something to do until I had to meet Blair later, but I ended up texting him to ask if he wanted to join us, he text back saying he would see me in 5. I trailed into the lounge after Kelsey, who was already seated with soda and popcorn. The rest of the gang were spread out on the surrounding sofas and armchairs. I made myself comfy on the loveseat leaving a space next to me for Blair. I asked for them not to start the movie for five minutes. They all groaned but I said I had news. That certainly cheered them up, I started to dive into my story of Blair asking me out and me saying yes. They all gushed saying how cute we were together and that if he hadn't asked me then they were gonna get him to ask me. I laughed at that part, just then the door opened and Blair walked through. He smiled when he saw me, and I swear I melted, he was the hottest guy and he was mine!

We turned the movie on once Blair had arrived and got settled next to me. The movie we were watching was 'Paranormal Activity' and I actually hated this movie. I was ok with the ghosts and all that crap but it actually would scare the crap out of me. I spent the majority of the movie hiding my face in Blair's shoulder. He would just laugh whenever I did this but would hug me closer. I honestly thanked the Goddess when it was over. We all stayed in our seats just talking. The twins were sitting on a mini sofa the seated two (perfect for them), Craig was in his normal armchair and Kelsey was on the floor, cause that was what she called her movie position. Blair and I were on the largest sofa in our corner. After an hour or so of talking I stood up from my seat, pulling Blair up with me. We said our goodbyes to the group and walked out into the courtyard.

I always loved going on walks even when I was a little girl. As I grew older I loved the idea of moonlight walks, with someone that was special and meant a lot to me. I had only been on one or two with Daniel during our relationship but that hadn't bothered me as much. Blair gently grabbed my hand as we walked and I relished in the feeling that it sent up my spine. It was that weird tingling feeling you get sometimes. We were walking in silence which was nice and when we reached the tree we sat down with our backs against it.  
"So," I started "Tell me about yourself. I mean I hardly know anything about you."  
"What do you wanna know?" He asked  
"Anything. Family, hobbies, any bad habits." I smiled at him  
"Well, I lived with my mum, dad and older brother. He's nineteen, at college. My mum is a high school teacher and my dad is a lawyer. I love football, hanging out with friends. Although right now I'm loving just being with you." He finished. I looked up at him and almost burst into tears at how genuine and caring he was. I shot up from where I was sitting and held my hand out for him to grab.  
"Dance with me." I said  
"What here? Now? There isn't any music." He whispered  
"I don't care," I stated "It's something I've always wanted to do; I never really knew why I guess I just did." I gave him my puppy dog looked and he caved. He stood up and shoved his hand into his jean pocket. What he pulled out was his iPod; he stood looking through searching for a song. He must have found what he was looking for because he smiled and tapped the screen. I heard the opening chords of Taylor Swift's 'Crazier' flood the silence of the courtyard. Blair walked over to me and put his hands on my waist; I put my arms around his neck and lay my head on his shoulder. We started swaying to the perfect melody. The chorus started and I sang along softly under my breath, but I knew that Blair could hear me.

_"You lift my feet off the ground. You spin me around. You make me crazier, crazier. Feels like I'm falling and I. I'm lost in your eyes. You make me crazier. Crazier, crazier."

* * *

_

Here is Chapter 6. Hope you enjoy it.

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	7. Chapter 7

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

It had started to rain. The rain started out as a drizzle during our dance, then it had turned into heavy rain. We were being the perfect stereotype; dancing in the rain. The last note played and then the courtyard became silent once more. We stood still as the rain fell all around us but we didn't take notice of it. My hair was soaked and normally I would hate it but being here with Blair made me forget all the little things. I looked up at him and we locked eyes. He started to lean down so I started to lean up towards him. We met in the middle in our first kiss. It was warm and his lips were wet from the rain running down his face. My hands went up into his hair and his arms tangled themselves around my waist. We stood in the rain kissing for what seemed like ages. We pulled apart and I couldn't stop the enormous smile that spread across my face like wild fire. Blair handed me his jacket again like the night before. I pulled it on and slipped my hand into his as we walked back towards the dormitories.

After I had kissed Blair goodnight and walked through the main door, I ran up to my room to change and get into dry, warm clothes. Once I had done that it was now 6 am so I decided to slip into bed and read a book. Kelsey was still down in the lounge with the gang, she had told me when I passed them that she would be up later. I was in dry clothes, when I decided to go get a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. I was in the kitchen heating up the milk when I heard the giggles and whispers. I was curious as to what was going on so I leaned closer to the door when I heard it.  
"I don't even know why he is going out with her! I mean she's the new, freak girl. She's a freak cause of her mark, just cause it's filled in. I don't understand what he sees in her. Blair should be going out with someone like me." I peeked around the door to see a tall blonde girl; I couldn't see her face because her back was to me. She was talking to two other girls who both had brown hair. I ducked back behind the doorway before one of them saw me when I heard another voice, presumably one of the brunettes.  
"I know what you mean Aphrodite. Blair should totally go out with you; you're so much prettier than her! " I didn't hear the rest of what she had said because my hot chocolate was done heating up. I grabbed the mug and made a dash away from the kitchen and lounge altogether. When I reached the sanctuary of my room I shut the door, put the mug on the desk. I sat on my bed and just stared at the corkboard on Kelsey's wall. It had pictures of her with her parents, with what must have been old friends and lots of pictures of her with the gang. There were also little scraps of paper that had song lyrics on them.

I must have fell asleep after staring at the pictures, because I woke up the next morning underneath my covers. I sat up and looked at the clock, it was 9 pm. I looked over at Kelsey's bed and it was empty. There was a note next to my clock that I had just notices, it was from Kelsey.

_Didn't want to wake you. Have gone into town with the gang. Will be back much later, but you have Blair to hang out with. Later xx _

I froze at the last sentence; I wasn't too keen on seeing Blair today after what I had overheard last night. What if he didn't really like me? What if he dumped me for that Aphrodite girl? I pushed all of that out of my mind though. Of course he liked me, he asked me out didn't he. This Aphrodite must just be jealous. I smiled as I thought of my boyfriend and pulled the covers back over me, going back to sleep. I was awakened later to a soft knocking on my door. I climbed out of my warm bed and dragged myself to the door. I opened it and saw my gorgeous boyfriend looking back at me. He smiled softly at me.  
"Hey, have a good sleep?" He asked as I dragged him in through the door. I smiled tiredly at him.  
"I had a great sleep." I lay back down on the bed and pulled the covers over me. "But I'm still really tired, I was up late." He walked over and climbed under the covers with me and hugged me close to him.  
"Well why don't you sleep and I'll be here to protect you." He whispered in my ear. I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before going back to sleep.  
When I woke up for the last time, I was glad to see that Blair was still there, he was asleep now too. Kelsey and the others had obviously been back because there were a ton of bags on her bed and next to my clock was a photo. I picked it up and it was of me and Blair sleeping. His arms were around my waist and my head was on his chest. I turned it over and there was a message:

_As we said before, you guys are just too cute together! Love ya (:_

I smiled and turned back to Blair and looked at his face, watching him as he slept. His fringe fell across his eyes, his lips were parted slightly and I could feel his soft breaths on my face. I gently untangled myself from his arms and went into the bathroom. I hopped in the shower, and stood under the hot water loving the feeling of it beating off my skin. I washed and got out wrapping my light blue fluffy towel around me. I brushed my teeth and didn't bother with makeup as I wouldn't be doing much anyway today. I opened the door and went straight to my wardrobe; I grabbed a pair of my grey sweats anda light pink tank top plus my underwear. Blair was starting to stir so I ran back into the bathroom and pulled on my clothes. I walked back out to find Blair standing up and stretching.  
"Have a good sleep?" I asked, giggling.  
"Of course because I had you in my arms." He pulled me towards him and started rocking us back and forth. "So I saw the picture your friends took of us, it's nice." He walked over to my bedside cabinet and picked the photo up. He then pulled out his wallet and stuck the photo in the clear screen part.  
"Now you'll always have a reminder of me!" I smiled. I ran out the room and down towards the kitchen, I could hear Blair not far behind. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of cereal. I was already sitting down and eating by the time Blair caught up. He grabbed and apple and sat down opposite me. We sat talking and eating and that's when the gang walked in.  
"Look who it is, it's the lovebirds." Erin said  
"Yeah, you looked mighty cosy when we found you." Shaunee finished off the trail of thought. They all joined us and the twins started ranting on about their shopping trip and the amazing purchases they got. I finished my cereal and was then dragged off by the twins to their room, while Kelsey trailed behind.

The twins' room was very nice. It was chic and classy but very twin at the same time. The walls were striped, the colours being cream and a light pink. They had the same furniture as Kelsey and I but theirs was a creamy white colour. There were tons of shelves full of makeup and perfume bottles. The walls were lined with posters and pictures. On the beds there was what seemed like a million shopping bags.  
"Now, we heard from a little birdie that Blair is taking a certain friends of ours on a first date," Shaunee stared  
"And we decided to buy this friend of ours a fabulous and gorgeous new outfit for the date!" Erin finished with a smile.  
"Guys you shouldn't have..." I started to say but was cut off.  
"Well we wanted to didn't we twins." Kelsey said  
"Thanks guys!" I crushed them all in a group hug. "Now let's see what you got me."  
Apparently they had got me two different outfits for two possible locations that Blair had chosen for the date. One was a formal outfit; for is he took me out to a fancy place. The other was a more casual one; for if what we were doing was low key. The formal outfit was a strapless, navy blue hitched dress that cut off mid thigh. Also for the outfit they had bought me some black tights, dark blue heels and a navy clutch. I tried it on and twirled around for the girls; Erin rummaged around for a camera and started taking pictures. I grabbed the other outfit which consisted of a pair of slouch jeans that hung on my hips neatly, a white vest top with a red heart on and a varsity baseball jacket, which I immediately fell in love with. They bought me a brand new pair of converse as well and a massive handbag. Once again I put the outfit on and posed for photos. After I was done posing and trying outfits the twins decided to give a fashion show with the clothes they got for themselves.

We spent the majority of the day parading around, doing our own fashion show. I grabbed the bags that had the clothes they bought for me, I said thank you once again and then my 'see you later'. I walked back to my room and hung my new clothes in my wardrobe. I decided that I would go for a walk to clear my head. I always done this when I was confused or stressed; I wasn't any of those right now but I felt the need to still clear my head. I grabbed my black hoodie that Cameron had bought me for my birthday the previous year. I pulled it over my head as I made my way through the lounge. I got out the door and made my way out the corridor towards the courtyard. I breathed in the fresh air and sighed; I walked across the courtyard towards the stables.

As I walked towards the stables; I finally felt calm and at peace. This place had finally become my home.

* * *

Chapter 7! I might stop updating for a while, not because I want to but I feel as though not a lot of people are wanting to read my story. :/

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	8. Chapter 8

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

Parent's visitation. It was the first parent's visit I was going to have at school. My mum had been texting me saying she was so excited to come and see her baby girl, and wanting to meet my friends and new boyfriend. We got the day off of lessons because all our parents were coming to visit. I dressed up nice but casual; I wore my denim shorts, a green tank top, my old blue converse and my varsity baseball jacket. I straightened my hair and put it up in a high pony tail. I put some light make-up on as well. I was hanging out with Blair before 7 o'clock (morning for us, night for our parents) we were sitting finishing off an essay we had for drama. I looked at my phone and saw that it was five past seven, and that I had a text from mum.

"_We're here, in the cafeteria! Can't wait to see you. Love mum."_

I looked up from my phone with a smile on my face. I grabbed Blair's hand and dragged him with me to the cafeteria, our essay forgotten about. We reached the doors to the cafeteria and I could hear the buzz of excitement through the doors. I fixed myself before opening the door and walking in, Blair following close behind.  
"I'm gonna go find my parents, I'll meet up with you soon babe." He said.  
"Alright." I replied and kissed him on the lips before departing to go find my family. I found one member soon enough because my waist was attacked by Alec giving me a hug.  
"Hey there Alec!" I leant down to his height and squeezed him in a hug. "Where are Cameron, mum and dad?" I asked, he turned and pointed towards a table far off.  
"They are sitting down at a table over there." He grabbed my hand and dragged me in that direction. "Come on!" We headed in towards the table and when I was in eye line of my mum she shot up and waved me over.  
"Joanne, over here!" I wanted to act cool and not childish but I still ran over to the table; Alec running to catch me up. I grabbed my mum in a hug.  
"I missed you mum." I said  
"I missed you to baby girl." I looked past her and saw my dad and Cameron sitting at the table.  
"What does a girl need to do to get a hug from her dad and brother?" I asked with a smile on my face. My dad got up first and walked over to me smiling.  
"Hey, Joanne. I missed you." He said and hugged me in his awesome bear hug.  
"And what about my dear little brother? Did he miss his big sister?" I asked and walked over to Cameron grabbing him in a hug.  
"Hey sis!" He exclaimed

After our catch up I called my friends over to meet my family. Craig took a real liking to Alec and Cameron really liked the twins. My parents liked my friends saying they were very nice and happy that I was settled in my new home. I explained to my parents that Kelsey wanted to introduce me to her parents and that I would come find them later. Alec didn't want to leave me so he came along with us. Kelsey led us over to a table that three people were sitting at. The woman looked like Kelsey but an older looking version of the girl that was stood before me. The man, who was her father, was tall, had light brown hair and characteristics that were similar to my new best friends. There was a little girl at the table and she looked the exact same as Kelsey's dad but the female version.  
"Joanne, I want you to meet my parents; Karen and Ross and my little sister Jasmine." She introduced us and we all exchanged hellos.  
"Hello, Mr and Mrs Cairns, hey Jasmine. I'm Joanne and this is one of my little brothers, Alec." I said pulling Alec from behind me.  
"Hi." He said  
"Hey Alec why don't you play with Jasmine, while I go find Blair. How about that?" I asked him.  
"Yeah ok." He answered.  
"You don't mind watching him for me while I go find Blair do you?" I asked Kelsey.  
"No, its ok I love your brother already!" She exclaimed.

I left the table where Kelsey and her family where plus Alec. I walked past table after table looking for the face of my boyfriend. Just when I was about to give up and go back and get Alec, I heard my name being called. I turned on the spot and saw Blair making his way towards me. I smiled when he reached me and leant up to kiss him.  
"Hey, seen your parents then?" I asked.  
"Yep and they want to meet you." He said.  
"They do?" I asked.  
"Of course they do. So do you want to come with me to meet them then I can meet your family?" He suggested  
"Sure." I replied. We walked hand in hand over to a table where there were three people. Blair's family. His mum was very pretty; with long black hair and flawless features. His dad was the older version of Blair. The last person at the table must have been his brother, he had dark brown hair, but not as dark as the rest of his family, was quite tall and had handsome features.  
"Mum, Dad, Damien, this is my girlfriend Joanne." Blair said proudly. I smiled shyly and waved.  
"Hi." I said timidly.  
"Hello Joanne, Blair has told us so much about you. It's lovely to finally meet you." His mum said.  
"It's nice to meet you too." I said.

We chatted with Blair's parents and brother for awhile before we said goodbye and I dragged him off to meet my family.  
"I just have to go see Kelsey and get my brother off her." I explained as we walked towards the table that the Cairns' resided at.  
"Hey Kelsey, I'm back to get Alec." I said to my best friend.  
"Oh cool. Hey Blair." She said.  
"Hey Kelsey." He replied.  
"Come on Alec. We are going back to mum, dad and Cammy. I'll give you a piggy back." I offered. He jumped up at that and climbed onto my back. We walked with Blair towards the table my parents were still sitting. I walked up and let Alec down off of my back and he ran around and sat next to Cameron, who was sitting texting on his phone.  
"Mum, dad I want you to meet Blair. My boyfriend." I said whilst grabbing his hand. I smiled at my parents. My parents introduced themselves and then got chatting right away with my boyfriend. Dad and Blair started talking about football or some sport or other, and mum was talking to Mrs Cairns who she had met while I had been with Blair and his family. I sat down with my brothers and tried talking to Cameron but he was a bit too focused on his phone; either he was playing a game or texting. So I decided to talk to Alec; we started to play some games to pass the time. It was nine o'clock when all the parents started to leave. Blair left to go say goodbye to his parents and brother. I turned to my family and started my goodbyes. I hugged each of my family members and said I would see them soon at the next visit.

I sat down at the table that my family had occupied during the visit. I wished I could have gotten extra time with them but I knew it wasn't like that. I put my head down on the table and sighed. I would see them soon though and mum had said that I could phone anytime. I heard someone sit down next to me and looked over and saw Blair. I lifted my head off the table to ask him something.  
"Does it get easier? Having to say goodbye every time and not getting to see them for months at a time?" I asked tears thick in my voice.  
"Yeah it does, but you just need time to adjust, that's all babe." He said and pulled me close to him. I put my head on his shoulder as a tear rolled down my face. I wiped it away with my hand. We stood up and walked towards the dorm. We had the rest of the day off so we could just lie about and relax. We walked through the door and went towards the chairs and T.V that the gang occupied. I sat myself on the sofa and Blair sat with me lying against his chest. We just watched re-runs of our favourite comedies all day. I still felt sad that it would be like this every time my family came to visit; there would always be a sense of emptiness but I knew I could get through it, it would just take time.

I fell asleep on the couch halfway through our 'Friends' marathon, and woke up four hours later in my bed with Blair next to me. I snuggled closer and lay there in the warmth under the quilt. I leaned over and grabbed my iPod and put the earphones in. I hit the play button and the Glee version of Dog Days Are Over started playing. I then went to my facebook and logged in. I changed my relationship status from 'single' to 'in a relationship'. I checked my profile and didn't see anything new. I accepted a few friend requests from people I had met here at the school. There was nothing more to do so I logged out and just listened to music. I stayed like that until Blair woke up; we just stayed in my dorm and talked, he was helping me keep my mind off of my family. We talked about our childhoods and other stuff, just getting to know each other even more. We then decided to finish our drama essays off; we finished them and just continued to talk.

Even though I was upset about being apart from my family; I now had a new family here at the House of Night that included my friends and Blair.

* * *

Chapter 8! I decided I'll continue with this story because of a certain person who really likes it! You give me my inspiration by reading! Love ya's

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	9. Chapter 9

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

I had been at this school for a month now. A full month of being a vampyre fledgling. A month with new friends, new routines, new classes. A month of being with Blair. It was our one month anniversary and he was taking me out somewhere. He hadn't said where only that I was to dress comfy. I decided on my skinny jeans, with my new top that I had bought recently; it was black and had paint splatters all over. I also put on my white rainbow Converse with my baseball jacket. I curled my hair and let it fall down naturally and had some light make-up on which the Twins insisted on helping with. I checked myself in the mirror before grabbing my purse and walking out the dorm room. I walked to the courtyard and waited by the tree like Blair had asked me to in his text. I knew he was there before he even said anything; I could tell because I could smell his aftershave that I loved. I smiled and turned around.  
"Happy anniversary!" I smiled  
"Happy anniversary babe!" He said back, I walked up to him and kissed him. He deepened the kiss and we stood there for a few minutes before we needed to part for air.  
"I got you something." I said handing him the box that I had wrapped with green paper. I watched as he tore the paper.  
"Wow! That's amazing, thank you so much baby!" He pulled it out of the box and revealed the watch that I had spent so long looking for; until Craig finally helped me. "I got you something too." He said pulling a bunch of red roses and a perfectly wrapped sliver box. He handed it to me and I didn't want to open it, it was wrapped so perfectly. I unwrapped it and a small box lay beneath all the silver paper. I was really curious now; I lifted the lid to the box and gasped at what was inside. It was a beautiful silver pendant in the shape of a heart and in the middle of the heart there was an inscription.

"_Blair and Joanne: Forever and Always! xxx"_

I was actually at a loss for words. I mean it was beautiful; the heart was the perfect size. I looked up at Blair with the biggest smile on my face.  
"I take it you love it then?" He asked.  
"Of course I love it. Put it on me please?" I asked handing him the necklace. I turned around and lifted my hair off the back of my neck. Blair unclasped the necklace and placed it around my neck. He clasped it shut and let it fall against my chest. The coolness of the silver felt nice against my skin. I turned back to him and attacked him in a hug and kisses.

After our little gift exchange under our tree, he led me to his car and we climbed in. We were driving when he said to me.  
"Hey put this on." He handed me a blindfold. I took it from him and looked at it.  
"Why?" I asked.  
"Cause I don't want you seeing where we are going till we get there." He explained. I nodded and tied the blindfold over my eyes. We continued driving in silence with the exception of the radio playing softly in the background. The car came to a slow stop and I heard Blair get out. He walked over to my side and opened the door to help me out.  
"Can I take it off yet?" I asked getting a little impatient.  
"Not yet, just a little longer." He said. He led me for a little while before stopping us altogether. He gently let go of me and told me to stay still. I heard him fumbling with something and then I could hear music playing softly. More precisely it was Taylor Swift's song Crazier; our song the one we danced to in the rain the night he asked me out.  
"Take the blindfold off." He said softly. I slowly reached up and removed the blindfold. I had to blink a few times before my eyes readjusted to the light. I almost melted right there with what I saw. We were in the park; but Blair was standing under a tree that had a bunch of fairy lights wrapped around the branches. On the ground underneath the tree was a blanket with a picnic basket open. The pond was not far away from where we were situated. I looked at Blair and I could see the happiness in his face. I slowly walked over to him and he said the same words that I had said to him a month ago.  
"Dance with me." He whispered.  
"Of course." I giggled. He grabbed my waist and I put my arms around his neck. We started swaying to the melody. I put my head on his chest and sighed. I loved my life right now.

We danced for a while then sat down on the blanket and started to eat the food Blair had packed for us. We had some chicken salad which was amazing as far as salads go and for a dessert we had strawberries with melted chocolate and cream. After our amazing picnic we lay back on the blanket and stared up at the night sky. My head was resting on Blair's chest and I could hear the steady beat of his heart. The music continued playing in the background and I was starting to get sleepy. That was something my mum and dad used to do when I was younger. When I woke up in the night after nightmares or I just couldn't sleep, they would play music for me and that would help me get back to sleep. It was different for my brothers though; Cameron needed to be told stories and Alec would always need a glass of warm milk. I started to get sleepier and sleepier until I could feel my eyelids becoming way too heavy. I woke up in Blair's car covered up with the blanket we had been lying on. I turned my head towards Blair.  
"Thank you for today." I said with sleep still thick in my voice.  
"It was nothing; you have to do special stuff for your anniversaries." He responded.  
"Well it was amazing! I loved every minute of it." I stated truthfully while trying and failing to suppress a yawn. We pulled into the House of Night student car park. He parked in the space that was next to my car and we got out. I kept the blanket wrapped around myself and we walked back to the dorms. I reached the door a little bit before Blair did and I grabbed his hand as we walked in. I looked over and saw all my friends sitting where I had left them earlier. We slowly approached them afraid we would make a noise to interrupt their Project Runway mega marathon. We sat down and I threw the blanket across the two of us. We sat in silence watching the show until a commercial break started, and then they all directed their attention to us. Craig was the first to speak.  
"So how was the anniversary picnic?" He asked almost bursting with excitement.  
"It was amazing, and he loved the present." I said and when I mentioned the watch Blair flashed his wrist to show it off.  
"And she absolutely loved her present and flowers." Blair spoke; when he said this my hand went immediately to my chest where the heart pendant lay.

We talked with the gang for a while before it got late and we all decided to go to bed. Craig was walking towards the door and trying to get Blair to go with him but I wouldn't let him go.  
"No, don't go." I almost cried whilst tugging on his arm  
"Babe, I'll see you tomorrow. I promise." He kissed me on the lips and walked swiftly out the door with Craig following behind. I turned around defeated and trudged up the stairs with Kelsey at my side. We walked though out dorm door. I chucked my purse down onto my desk and started to make my way towards the bathroom with a towel. I locked the door and started to peel my clothes off. I turned on the shower and stepped in. The feel of the water was amazing, so relaxing. I washed my hair and body, turned off the shower and stepped out. I wrapped my warm fluffy towel around me and walked out. Kelsey went in after me and I heard her fumbling around. I got changed into my pyjamas and dried my hair, letting it go into natural waves. I picked up the necklace and put in on again. I decided to sit down at my desk and finish all my homework that was due over the next few weeks. I started off by finishing writing my stimulus for Drama and then I went on to start my essay describing myself for Spanish. After I finished those I had to go on to finish the essays I had for Lit which was about an old Shakespeare play we were studying and my essay on the history of vampyre queens. I finished all my homework by 6 am and I sighed in relief. I had never been this organised when I went to my old high school. I would always be rushing around at the last minute trying to finish things off, my grades were good sure but I always rushed at the last minute for homework and such.

I went to bed after I had finished all my homework. I fell asleep content with everything; no stress, I was happy.

* * *

I give you Chapter 9! I am very happy with this story and ideas for it keep coming to me especially during my classes :L

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	10. Chapter 10

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

I woke up the next day to my blaring alarm still tired after staying up late to finish homework. I didn't want to go to classes today, I just wanted to curl up on the sofa downstairs and watch Glee all day and sing along. I couldn't though. I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I didn't bother to go for a shower as I had gone for one last night. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, and then I applied my make-up. I walked out and into the room to see Kelsey just getting out of her bed.  
"Morning." She said all cheery even though she had just woken up a few minutes ago. I mumbled the same still not functioning properly. I walked to my wardrobe and pulled out a white cotton vest, a deep purple pullover with the third formers emblem. I pulled out a short black skirt and pulled that on along with a pair of high heeled black leather boots I had bought a few weeks back. I checked myself in the full length mirror and walked over to my desk where my book bag lay. I picked it up and slung it over my shoulder, I shouted through the door to Kelsey.  
"I'm gonna head down for breakfast, I'll see you in class ok?"  
"Ok, see you in class!" She shouted back over the noise of the shower.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed some toast and a glass of fresh orange juice. I finished off my breakfast and practically skipped out of the dorm. I walked to the tree and sat down; I pulled out my playbook for drama and started reading the play we were going to be doing next. My light was blocked by a shadow in front of me. I slowly looked up and saw Craig.  
"Hey Craig!" I said "What you doing out here so early before school?" I asked  
"Just thought I would get some fresh air before the school day started and also the Twins were doing my head in!" He explained "So are you looking forward to your first ritual tonight?" He asked.  
"Yeah but I'm kinda nervous at the same time." I replied.  
"You'll be fine. So no Blair with you, what a shock!" He feigned shock.  
"Well, I was going to call him to see if he wanted to meet up before school but then I decided not to. I instead decided to come out here and read my playbook for drama. You know get a head start." I said.  
"That's very sensible of you Joanne." He said with delight "Well I'm going to go back and get my bag and some breakfast. I ran out before I could get any because of the Twins." He laughed "See you in class!" He shouted over his shoulder. After Craig left I went back to my playbook, I was really enjoying this play and getting the chance to perform. I stayed out under the tree until it was ten minutes until the bell for first hour. I gathered up my stuff and made my way to my Vampyre Sociology classroom. I walked in and went up to the back where my cabinet was. I put in the books that I wouldn't need until later in the day. I then sorted my cabinet out, tidied it up a bit and sorted all my books according to when I would need the throughout the day. By this time the bell had rang out signalling the start of first hour; people started to make their way into the class and sat down in their seats or went to their cabinets. I sat down in my seat and started to flick through my textbook, occasionally taking notes on something that I thought I would need for an exam later in the year. The second bell rang and by now everyone was in the class; Kelsey, Craig and Blair had come in just after I had started to make notes on the text that I was reading.

First hour went by really fast and then it was time for drama. I walked in and went to my seat, when Prof. Nolan started talking about the play I honestly think that I was the only one who understood it. I kept asking really detailed questions and answering all her most complicated questions. By the end of that class I think she was really impressed by my effort and knowledge about the play. I also handed in my stimulus writing; Professor Nolan was extremely impressed that I had handed it in a week before it was due. I then made my way to third hour which was Literature with Professor Penthesilea. We were going onto looking at the way Shakespeare would write his pieces of work and the way his words would speak to people in different ways. I honestly was amazed at the way his words made people feel and think in different ways. I absolutely loved the classes here because they opened my eyes to things I never knew before. My old school never really taught us anything about Shakespeare. Again the bell rang out for the end of third hour and I went to hand in my essay again a week before it was due. Fourth hour was time for Fencing with Dragon. He didn't mind us just calling him Dragon; he actually preferred it. I walked to the changing room for girls and changed into my kit. I then walked into the gymnasium and ran over to Kelsey; we started chatting animatedly then Blair and Craig arrived from their changing room. I walked over to Blair and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. This lesson went a bit slower than the rest had; we practised our stances and moves again as we always done at the start of every lesson. Then after practising our stances and moves; we broke off into pairs and had mini duels. I paired up with Kelsey and Craig and Blair paired up. We were giggling all the way through the exercise but still getting it done. Dragon let us go twenty minutes early to let us get changed and showered in time for the end of fourth hour. Kelsey and I walked back to the changing room with our arms linking still giggling our heads off. We showered and got changed back into our uniforms. We were finished five minutes before the bell, so while my hair was still a bit damp I searched for the hairdryer that was kept in the girls changing room. I found it and gave my hair a final blast that dried it off completely leaving it with the natural waves like last night. The bell rang and we all but ran out and towards the cafeteria.

Lunch was uneventful; we caught up with the Twins and what had happened to them. I was sat on the bench in the middle of Blair who had his arm around my waist, and Kelsey who was talking animatedly to Craig about the essay that they had to finish off for Literature. I finished my lunch and pulled out my phone and checked my texts; I had none. When lunch finished, I kissed Blair and watched as him, Craig and The Twins walked off in the opposite direction that me and Kelsey had to go. We headed to our Spanish class and when we arrived we sat in our seats. Professor Garmy walked in and started the lesson on how to form the past tense in Spanish. She set us a task and I found this opportunity to go up and hand in my essay. Yet again I had another teacher who was amazed that I was handing in homework way before it was due. I went back to my desk and started to work on the task. I found it kinda easy; I mean I learned how to form the past tense in French in high school but Spanish was easier than French to me. When fifth hour finished I said bye to Kelsey and made my way to the Field House. I walked in and put on all the equipment that Professor Lenobia said we would need for riding. The last lesson we had she chose a few people who would get to ride their horse the next lesson. I was one of those people; while the remainder of the class mucked out the stalls that their horse resided in I was trotting around the course on my horse Toby. I loved the feel of the fresh air on my face as we trotted and cantered around the course. I finished up on Toby and led him back to his stall. I removed all the equipment and went back to the stall. I stayed there for the remainder of the lesson, grooming Toby.

The last bell of the day rang and I put away the brush I was using, bowed to Lenobia and left the Field House. I walked out to find Blair standing there waiting for me. I smiled as I walked over and grabbed his hand. We started walking, just asking each other how our days had been. I started gushing about how amazing it had been to finally get to ride Toby and he was telling me about his Tai Kwan Do lesson. We continued walking until we reached our tree. We sat down underneath it and sat in quiet.  
"So the ritual tonight," I started. "What do I need to wear for it?" I questioned  
"Just your uniform but with your emblem visible. Fiona doesn't mind if we wear our uniform as long as we have something with our emblem on." He explained.  
"Ok." I mumbled and lay down against Blair. We sat there for about an hour, we didn't need words we were in a comfortable silence and I was soothed by the fact that Blair was playing with my hair. We finally got up and made our way to the boy's dorm first so that Blair could change his top. It was the first time I would have been in the boy's dorm area. We always hung out in the girl's dorm for some reason. It was just like the girl's dorm except the colour scheme was different. While the girls had pinks, light purples, creams and other calm soft colours; the boys had bright colours such as blues, greens and reds. Blair took my hand and led me up to his dorm room. It was number fifteen; he opened the door and led me in. His room was a deep blue colour and the furniture was a deep mahogany colour. It was elegant and I really liked it; I noticed that it was only his stuff in the room, so he mustn't have a roommate. I sat down on his bed while he grabbed another shirt and quickly stripped off the one he was wearing and put on the clean fresh one, also throwing on a jumper that had our emblem on. We stayed in his room for a while until we had to leave for the ritual.

As we made our way to the hall, the only thing going through my head was; Oh My Gosh!


	11. Chapter 11

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

We made our way to Nyx's Temple holding hands, halfway there we were joined by the rest of the gang. I was really quiet while we were walking. Kelsey obviously notice this over the incessant chatter of the Twins and there latest gossip.  
"Joanne, what's up?" She asked.  
"Huh? Nothing." By this time we had reached the entrance of the temple, I hesitated as we made our way into the dark foyer.  
"There's nothing to be worried about." Blair spoke while meeting my eyes. "The Full Moon Ritual is awesome. You'll like it." he reassured me.  
"Yeah. Oh, when the vamp traces the pentagram on your forehead and says 'blessed be' all you have to do is say 'blessed be' back to her." Craig added.  
"Then follow us over to our place in the circle." Erin finished. Her and Shaunee hurrying ahead into the dimly lit interior room. Craig and Kelsey then went after them and I slowly made my way in as well with Blair by my side. We walked deeper into the foyer and as we did I could hear the trickling of water and the loudness of it grew the further we walked. I looked to my right and saw the magnificent fountain and then the entryway curved to the left. Within the stone archway there stood a vampyre that I didn't recognize. She was dressed entirely in black – a long skirt and a silky, bell-sleeved blouse. The other only colour she wore was the silver embroidered goddess figure which lay over her breast. She had long hair that was the colour of wheat. Her sapphire-coloured spirals radiated from her crescent moon tattoo and down her flawless face.  
"That's Anastasia. She teaches the Spells and Rituals class, she's also Dragons wife." Blair whispered in my ear. I nodded in understanding. Blair walked up to her first and got the pentagram drawn on his forehead. Then I walked up to Anastasia; she dipped her finger in oil that was in the rock bowl she was holding.  
"Merry meet Joanne Clarke, welcome to the House of Night and your new life." She said as she traced the pentagram on my forehead over my Mark. "And blessed be."  
"Blessed be." I replied all the while confused and surprised at the electric shiver that took over my body after the damp star had taken form my forehead.  
"Go in and join your friends."  
"Thank you." I said and all but ran into the room. After I made my way through to the crowded room; I was too busy taking in all the beautiful images that were all around me candle and sconces then some more candles. It was amazing. I soon found my friends when I caught sight of Kelsey's hand above a sea of fledgling heads. I made my way over and stood in between Kelsey and Blair. We started chatting for a small amount of time before Shaunee spoke.  
"_Sssh!_" She hissed at us. We all became quiet at once, the whole room then followed into the silence.

Four forms seemed to materialize from within the dark corners of the room to become women who made their ways to four spots within the living circle, like the directions on a compass. Two more entered from the main door; one was a tall male vampyre who was quite good looking. He was over six feet tall and looked as though he could be a movie star.  
"And _there_ is the only reason that I am taking that damn Poetry elective," Shaunee whispered.  
"I'm with you there Twin." Erin breathed while dreamily staring at the male vamp.  
"Who is he?" I asked Kelsey while nudging her in the ribs to get her attention.  
"Loren Blake, Vamp Poet Laureate. He's the first male Poet Laureate in two hundred years. Literally," She whispered "And he's only like twenty-something, and that's in real years, not just in looks." I didn't get to say anything else as he started to speak.

_She walks in beauty, like the night  
of cloudless climes and starry skies..._

As he was speaking he slowly moved towards the circle. As if his voice was music, the woman who had entered with him began to sway and then dance around the outside of the living circle. Blake continued with the poem as the woman danced; with a sudden realization I looked closely and saw that it was Fiona who was dancing gracefully around the outside of the circle. Fiona and Loren both managed to arrive at the centre of the circle just as he finished the poem. Then Fiona took a goblet from the table and lifted it, as if offering a drink to the circle.  
"Welcome Nyx's children to the Goddess's celebration of the full moon!"  
All the adult vamps chorused "Merry meet."  
Fiona smiled, placed the goblet back onto the table and lifted a long white taper that was already lit and sitting in a candlestick holder. She then walked across the circle towards a vamp; the vampyre saluted her, hand over breast before turning around so that her back was facing Fiona.  
"Psst!" Blair whispered "We all face each of the four directions as Fiona evokes the element and casts Nyx's circle. East and air come first."

Everyone including myself although I was a bit slow turned toward the east. From the corner of my eye I saw Fiona raise her arms above her head; her voice was loud as she spoke and rang off the walls.  
"From the east I summon air and ask that you carry to this circle the gift of knowledge that our ritual will be filled with learning." The moment Fiona started to speak the invocation I felt a gentle breeze surround me. It swirled around me lifting up my hair ever so slightly but no one seemed to notice what was happening to me. The vamp that Fiona was facing pulled out a thick yellow candle and held it out for Fiona to light. She lifted it up in offering then placed it at her feet and left it to flicker. Even though she had finished the invocation the soft breeze seemed to stay with me. Blair nudged me slightly, I looked at him and he mouthed for me to turn to the right. I did so and heard Fiona's clear voice again.  
"From the south I summon fire and ask that you light in this circle the gift of strength of will, so that our ritual will be binding and powerful." Again after the words were spoken I could feel the heat starting to rise; not so warm that it was uncomfortable but the way you feel when you get all flushed. It was enough to make a light sweat break out over my body. I looked towards my friends and boyfriend, none of them looked as though they were experiencing what I was. The next vampyre pulled out a thick red candle this time and Fiona done the exact same as she had with the previous candle.

This time I didn't need anyone to tell me to turn to my right. I had a feeling that the next element to be evoked would be water and my thoughts were right.  
"From the west I summon water and ask that you wash this circle in compassion, that the light of the full moon can be used to bestow healing to our group as well as understanding." Fiona lit the vamp's blue candle and placed it at her feet as the heat I was previously experiencing was relinquished. I could now smell the salty water and hear the waves lapping against the shore. I turned yet again to the right for the next element.  
"From the north I summon earth and ask that you grow within this circle the gift of manifestation that the wishes and prayers from tonight will come to fruition." The next vampyre pulled out a green candle that was lit and held up in offering before being placed on the ground to flicker. With this element I could hear the birdsong, smell hay and feel the softness of a grassy meadow underneath my feet. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath loving the feeling. It stayed with me while Fiona made her way to the centre of the circle. I was curious to find out what this element would be.  
"And last I summon spirit to complete our circle and ask that you fill us with connection, so that as your children we may prospect together." Fiona lifted up a purple candle that had been sitting on the floor the whole time. She lit it and held it up just like with all the other candles. For the spirit element I swear I could feel my own spirit jump for joy when the element was invoked. It was like there were a hundred tiny little bird wings fluttering inside my chest, the feeling was amazing.

The ritual finished a little while after. After invoking each of the elements Fiona started talking about how important the full moon was and how we can learn from it and stuff like that. I paid attention to the ritual but not very much, I was too busy trying to figure out why I was affected like I was when each of the element were invoked. Near the end Fiona had asked us to close our eyes and make a wish on this Full Moon Eve. My wish was that I would be able to belong somewhere even though I already felt like I did; I just wanted to wish it and make sure that I would belong somewhere. After that Fiona gave an offering to the Goddess then in reverse order she thanked each element and sent them away as each candle was blown out. As each element left I would feel a twinge of sadness and emptiness. Once the elements had been sent away Fiona spoke once again.  
"Tonight I want each of us to spend at least a moment or two alone in the light of the full moon. Let its light refresh you and help you to remember how extraordinary you are... or you are becoming." She smiled at some of the fledglings which included me. "Bask in your uniqueness. Revel in your strength. We stand separate from the world because of our gifts. Never forget that, because your sure the world never will. This rite is ended. Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again!"  
The crowd echoed her words: "Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again!"

And that was that. My first ever ritual of the Goddess was over.

* * *

Chapter 11! I am actually so proud of this story! I was thinking of writing another series related to this. It would be like one shots on Joanne's past and little extra things you havent seen in this story. Review if you think that's a good idea. Also I practically copied this chapter from the book only because I wanted to make sure I got the words and stuff right. One last thing sorry about any errors with this or any of the previous chapters. xx

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	12. Chapter 12

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

I had gone to bed the previous night utterly confused. I mean I had experienced the elements last night but it seemed as though no one else had. I woke up and went about my normal routine. Went for a shower, got dressed then went downstairs for breakfast. I had done this a bit earlier than usual though, I wanted to go by Nyx's Temple first and pray to my Goddess. I had dressed in a black sweatshirt with the third form emblem, I had a white cotton shirt on underneath and wore a pair of black skinny jeans with my black boots. I had a quick bowl of cereal and ran out the dorm. I slowed down as I made my way towards the temple and my breath caught at its beauty this early in the morning. I made my way up the steps and into the now lit foyer. There were no candles because the light streamed in through the windows, I made my way past the fountain and towards the room we were in last night. I wasn't sure if this was the place that everyone came to so they could pray but I just thought I would come here. I placed myself in the centre of the room and knelt down, closed my eyes and started my silent prayer.  
_"Um...hi Nyx. I'm praying to ask a question about something that happened to me last night. When each element was invoked I felt that particular element surround me and fill me with energy. I was just praying so that I could get some guidance as to what this means. So maybe if you could please send me a sign or something that would be very much appreciated. Thank you Nyx."_ I finished my silent prayer and slowly opened my eyes.

When my eyes were fully open I wasn't in the temple, I was back in the Otherworld. The beautiful green meadow with cherry blossom trees and the lake. Yet again Nyx was there on the slab of stone. I walked over to her this time and when I reached where she was sitting I sat down in front of her. I bowed my head slightly and looked back up.  
_"Daughter, we meet again." _ She said with her silky sweet voice.  
"We do indeed Goddess." I laughed slightly. "Why am I here? If it's alright to ask."  
_"It's perfectly fine for you to ask my child. You are here because you asked of me to assist you. You are here so that I may explain to you why you experience the elements like so." _She explained. _"You are connected to the elements, they are you affinity. Every vampyre get's an affinity from me, like a gift. Your affinity is the elements, all five of them. You are lucky with this as not many people get all five elements as their affinity."  
_"So I have an affinity of the elements; like I'll be able to control them and summon the at my command kinda thing?" I asked.  
_"Kind of like that yes child. They will be able to protect you; you will be able to use them against your enemies if you are to ever have any."  
_"Wow." I whispered "Thank you so much Nyx, for giving me this gift and for guiding me in how to use it."  
_"You are very welcome Daughter, now you need to go back or you will miss class." _She smiles softly at me and then I was opening my eyes to find the brightly lit hall that I was in before. I checked the time on my phone and saw that there was just under an hour until classed started (yeah that's how early I got up this morning). I rose from where I was and started to make my way out of the temple.

I ran to the tree and when I arrived there I threw my book bag down by the trunk and stood up straight. I centred myself, took three deep cleansing breaths and spoke clearly.  
"Air come to me please." I said. Almost as soon as the words had left my lips I could feel myself being swirled in a mini tornado. The wind ruffled my hair and I was smiling like mad that I had done this. I then summoned Fire and was blasted with the same intense heat as last night. It mingled with the air forming a warm breeze that you get on summer nights. After Fire came Water I summoned that and all the intense heat was washed away by the coolness of water. Again I could hear the ocean lapping against the shore and smell the sea; it was amazing. Earth was the next element; I could hear the birdsong again, smell freshly cut grass and feel the grass under my feet. I could feel all the elements around me, all swirling together. I moved on and started to summon the last element Spirit. The insides of me were tingling as my soul was almost jumping out of me to join all the elements. I wondered if I could play with fire and water within my hand and stuff like that. I sat down by my bag all the elements still surrounding me. I held my hand out palm facing upwards, in my head all I was thinking about was trying to create a small ball of fire in the palm of my hand. I stayed focused on that thought, staring at my palm; and soon enough a small ball of fire was in the middle of my palm. I started bouncing it up and down almost collapsing from the amazement I was feeling.

I stayed out by the tree for ages until I had to start making my way to class. I dismissed the elements and made my way to first hour. The school day went on, I learned and socialized. Lunch came around and everyone was confused as to why I was so quiet.  
"Why so quiet Joanne?" Craig was the first to ask.  
"Well I'm just thinking really." I answered snapping out of my daydream.  
"What about?" Erin was the next to ask and Shaunee echoed her.  
"About my affinity." I blurted out absentmindedly.  
"Your what!" Kelsey asked almost shouting and spraying her food all over the Twins.  
"Huh... oh I said that I had an affinity didn't I?" I asked and they all nodded. "Oh well yeah I was gonna tell you guys later. I may as well tell you now; I have an affinity for all five of the elements, I wasn't sure at first so I went to the temple to pray and ask Nyx for guidance as to what it was that happened to me last night and then I met her face to face again. She explained to me what an affinity was and that I was special enough to have one for all five of the elements." I continued to explain the rest of what had happened including last night's details and what I had managed to do with fire this morning. They were all sitting there with their mouths open. Then they all ambushed me with their shouts of 'show us' and 'how awesome'. I told them id show them once we finished our lunch; they all started shovelling their lunch down, eager to see what I could do. After our lunches we made our way out to the tree and they all sat down by the trunk of the tree. I repeated what I had done earlier; I centred myself and took three deep, cleansing breaths. I started with Air first again.  
"Air please come to me." Once again as soon as the words left my lips a really strong wind blew around me, ruffling my hair once more. I heard all of the shocked gasps of my friends as they witnessed my new found affinity. I smiled to myself and move onto Fire and this time the intense heat returned mixing with the wind and I blew it over towards my friends so they could feel the heat as well as the wind that blew around them. I moved onto Water and it turned down the intensity of the heat that was surrounding us. The air all around us was filled with the scent of the sea and the sound of it played as well. Earth was next and the smell of hay and the birdsong filled the air, Spirit was an interesting because once I had called it to me I felt uplifted and full of energy just like before but my friends all gasped as though they were feeling it too.

Once I had called all the elements, I started to show off a bit and brought the ball of fire back into my hand. They were all so amazed. The bell rang to signal the end of lunch, I quickly thanked the elements and sent them away, and then ran to catch up with my friends. The last two classes flew by and before I knew it I was back in my dorm changing into my casual clothes. I stripped off my uniform and changed into a pair of grey baggy joggers with a white tank top. I walked back downstairs to where all my friends were situated in front of our usual plasma screen. I got comfy on the couch and started to watch the TV. We were watching a 'Scrubs' marathon; I absolutely loved 'Scrubs' it was probably the best show ever! We were halfway through Season 5 when we thought we would stop and continue it tomorrow. We all dispersed into our dorms rooms, Craig came back to our room with us so me and him could work on a sonnet we were doing together for Lit class. We worked on that and then the three of us all done our homework together, helping each other whenever we were stuck.

I was sitting finishing writing a play for Drama when I felt a shiver go down my spine. I thought nothing of it but little did I know that my life was about to change yet again; though maybe not for a good reason this time.

* * *

Oohh, a bit of suspense there! Hope you liked this chapter and thank you to all the new readers who have read and reviewed this story.

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	13. Chapter 13

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

I woke up the next morning with a weird, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was as if something was wrong. That shiver that I had felt last night had crept me out. It was a Friday – thank the Goddess. I went about my normal routine although today I got up at my usual time. I beat Kelsey to the bathroom and sorted myself out; I didn't bother with my make-up today; mainly because I couldn't be bothered. I scraped my hair up into a messy but cute pony tail. I walked out and Kelsey ran in. I went to my wardrobe and pulled out a short black skirt, white blouse and deep purple jumper. I pulled on my black converse today, grabbed my bag and headed downstairs for breakfast. Kelsey arrived in the kitchen not long after I had left the room. I was sat at the table just staring into space with a plate of toast in front of me. I didn't pay any attention to it though; I still had that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was getting a bit scared as to what had gone wrong but what could have gone wrong. I broke out of my trance and started to slowly eat the toast that lay in front of me. The Twins and Craig wandered in and started to sort out themselves. The Twins grabbed a bowl of cereal each and Craig having an apple. We ate in silence, which was a first. After we had all finished our breakfast we still had forty-five minutes until first hour; we decided to put on the TV for that time. We all settled on watching the news. Just after we had put the TV on Blair strolled through the door and situated himself next to me giving me a chaste kiss. I smiled and snuggled into him, we watched the news getting interested in what was happening in the world.

Although my world decided to come crashing down at the next bulletin. It was about a hit and run, I was shocked as to how someone would be able to live with themselves with doing something like that. That wasn't what crushed my world; it was when the news reporter revealed who had been hit. I listened intently to find out all the information about this.  
_"We are here today at the scene where it all happened yesterday afternoon. It was three o'clock and this local elementary school was just letting out."_ The school showed up in the background and that's when I started to feel sick; it was my old elementary school now my brothers' school. _"The young boy was crossing the road when it happened. His name is Cameron Clarke and at three o'clock yesterday afternoon he was hit by a car. He was rushed to hospital and his parents were contacted but we have no news on his condition as of this moment."_  
I almost collapsed right there; my baby brother had been hit by a car. I could feel the sick travelling up my throat.  
"Someone get me a bucket please!" I shouted as I tried to stop the sick from rising. Kelsey ran to get a bucket and shoved it under me just in time for me to empty the contents of my stomach. The words kept running through my head as I continued to empty my stomach. Cameron, my baby brother was hit by a car. He had to be ok. He was going ok I knew it. If I knew he was going to be ok why did I still have that weird feeling in the bottom of my stomach? I finally stopped puking my guts out and wiped my mouth. Craig handed me a glass of water for me to swirl around my mouth, once I had done that I spat it out into the bucket and made a face.  
"Can someone please take this away from me?" I said. Craig smiled sadly at me as he grabbed the bucket and took it away. I took a shaky breath and sat up, the whole room started to spin a bit. I closed my eyes tight and started crying. I had to get out of there; I couldn't take the silence any longer. I rose from my seat, grabbed my bag that had my phone in and my iPod and ran from the room. I didn't bother about all the shouts of 'come back'. I kept running until I reached my car. I knew I had classes so I text Blair to ask him to tell Fiona what had happened and that I needed to be alone for a while. He text back saying ok.

I had climbed into my car, put on the cover up for my mark and started to drive away from the school. I would have driven to the hospital to see Cammy, but I hadn't listened long enough to what hospital he was in. I just drove and drove until I reached where my parents' house was. I smiled as I saw my childhood home. I didn't bother stopping, I drove past it and towards a very special place to me. I reached the lake which was about five minutes away from my house by car. I parked and climbed out; I walked towards the edge of the lake and sat down. I had discovered the lake when I was thirteen; I had a huge blowout with my parents because of something I don't even remember. I had ran to my room and packed a backpack planning on running away. It's silly now I look back at it, but I had left the house dead silent and just started walking after about a fifteen minute walk I had found the lake. I had sat at the edge and skimmed stones, but as it got darker I started to think just to get up and go home. I did. My parents had said they were worried sick about me. I covered up saying that I had gone to Ellen's house and that I didn't have a charge in my phone. They believed me and were just glad that I was safe. After that I had always came to the lake when I needed to be alone. The clean fresh air always helped to clear my head. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my calls. I saw that I had eighteen missed call either from my mum or my dad and a few from Blair that had been from today. Mum and Dad must have been calling to tell me about Cammy. I went to my phonebook and scrolled down until I found my mum mobile number; I hit call and put the phone to my ear listening to the dial tone. She picked up on the fourth ring.  
"Joanne! Oh my goodness, I was trying to call you all of last night. Cameron was hit by a car. He's in the hospital." I could hear her trying to refrain from crying.  
"Mum, I know I saw it on the news this morning before classes." I choked out. "Is he alright?" I asked. When I asked that she couldn't control herself she started sobbing and I could hear the phone being passed to my Dad.  
"Joanne. It's not good news; the doctors say that he isn't looking to good and that things are worse than they thought. Come to the hospital you need to say goodbye to him in case he doesn't make it." His voice was thick with tears and just listening to him made me break down. My dad never cried, he wasn't like that; sure he would get sad and stuff but he would never cry.  
"Ok daddy." My voice was shaky as I responded. I also called him 'daddy' something I hadn't done since I was a kid and only done when I was terrified. I hung up the phone after saying I would be there as soon as I could.

After the phone call I clambered back into my car and sped towards the hospital. I parked and jumped out the car running into the building. I went to the reception desk and reached it out of breath.  
"Can I help you?" The middle aged receptionist asked.  
"Yeah. What room is Cameron Clarke in? I'm his sister." I asked gulping down air, trying to catch my breath.  
"Oh Cameron Clarke." She clicked away at her computer and looked back up at me. "He's in room 268 on floor 3." She gave a small, sad smile. I thanked her and took off again at a run for the elevator. I slipped inside and pressed the button for the third floor. I tapped my foot nervously as the elevator rose through floors one and two. I heard the ping when we reached floor 3 and ran out and searched the corridors for room 268. I found the room and entered slowly bracing myself for what I was about to see. My family surrounded the bed that Cameron was in. He was covered in wires and looked so small on the bed. His hair was matted with sweat and his face was a deathly white colour. It terrified me to see him like this. I cleared my throat to make my presence known. My mum turned to me with glassy eyes and gave a sigh of relief that I was ok and here. My dad walked over and grasped me in a hug; I let myself freely sob in his embrace. I couldn't keep it bottled up I had to let it out. I let go of him and looked towards Alec who was sitting in a chair by the window; he was sitting in silence staring out at the world. I walked over to him and lightly tapped his shoulder, he looked up at me a burst into tears and he gripped me tight.  
"Please don't leave me too." He cried out. When he said that I knew what had happened. I turned to my parents and their looks just confirmed what I had guessed.  
"I'll never leave you Alec." I kissed the top of his head. "Is he gone then?" I asked my parents.  
"We tried to get him to hold on until you arrived..." My mum started saying but broke off in tears.  
"Can I maybe have a few minutes with him alone? You know to say my own goodbye." I asked, my parents nodded and left the room, trying to get Alec to go with them but he was stuck to my side not wanting to leave. "Just leave him with me please?" I asked again, my parents nodded and left the room. I grabbed Alec's hand and we walked over to the bed where our brother lay. I sat down on the chair that resided next to the bed and pulled Alec onto my lap.  
"Hey there Cammy. I really miss you, you know that! I just can't believe you're gone. I didn't even really get to say a proper goodbye. I love you, you're my baby brother and I always loved you even when we fought. You know I was jealous when you were born, because I wasn't the centre of attention anymore, but I learned to like you and soon I was so protective of you. No one ever tried to mess with my brother. Alec is here as well, we both miss you." I started to cry again. I stroked his pale, cold cheek. "You know I remember everything you ever told me. Everything that you wanted to be. You said you were gonna be a cowboy when you were three. You grew out of that though, you kept changing your mind over the years. When you turned eleven though you came to me and said that you were going to be a footballer and that you be the best footballer out there. Well you were the best footballer I knew, and you could have been a star. I'm going to miss you baby brother." I took a shaky breath and placed Alec back on the ground. I stood up and reached over to place a kiss on Cameron's forehead. Alec had done the same. I grabbed his hand after that and we left the room where our brother was. We went back to our parents and I explained that I had to get back to the House of Night. Dad said he would contact Fiona and see if I could maybe get out of classes for the next couple of days.

I said my goodbyes and told Alec I would see him real soon and left the hospital where my brother had died.

* * *

There is Chapter 13. A really sad one and I was practically crying just writing it. Chapter 14 will follow shortly hopefully if I get it finished today.

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	14. Chapter 14

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

Last night was horrible for me. I had arrived back at the House of Night and went straight to Fiona's office to speak with her. I had knocked on her door and waited for the muffled 'come in'. When I walked in I could tell she had already been informed of my loss. I had sat with her for an hour asking if I could miss classes for the next couple of days; she had said of course but I would have to do the class work in my dorm I had agreed to that. She also discussed with me the matter of his funeral. I explained that my parents would be sorting that out and that I wanted to go to it. Fiona was really understanding about the matter, she explained that she would accompany me as I couldn't be far from an adult vampyre for long. After our meeting I had left her office feeling a weight being lifted off of my shoulders. I made my way back to the dorm rooms; I had to take gulps of air because I still felt as though I couldn't breathe. I reached the door and before I opened it and walked through I took three deep breaths to calm myself down. I opened the door and walked through. The whole room became silent when I entered; everyone gave sympathetic smiles towards me. I didn't bother with them because why would they feel sympathetic; it wasn't their little brother that just died! I walked over to my friends who were sitting at the group of chairs where we were this morning, I couldn't walk anymore and collapsed right there onto my knees and started to cry. Blair rushed over to me and bundled me into his arms, rocking me back and forth whispering comforting words into my hair. All my friends crowded around me as well all hugging me. I had my eyes squeezed shut as the tears still continued to leak out of my eyes and run down my face like rivers. I felt myself being lifted up and moving. Blair must have picked me up; I opened my eyes for a second and saw that he was carrying me towards my dorm room with my friends all trailing behind.

We entered Kelsey and mines room and Blair lay me down on my bed; he sat down next to me and I put my head on his lap. My friends all entered the room and gathered either on Kelsey's bed or sat down on the floor.  
"He's gone." I whispered. "I didn't get to say goodbye before he died." A sob erupted from the back of my throat.  
"Joanne, we know it's tough but we're gonna help you get through this." Shaunee said. The others all echoed her.  
"Thanks guys. I really appreciate that." I said.  
"We know you gonna get asked this a lot but how are you?" Erin asked.  
"Not great." I replied. I took a deep shaky breath. "I don't wanna be rude or anything but can you guys maybe go. I just really want to sleep right now." I asked. They all nodded and started to make their way out the door. Blair started to move as well but I stopped him by grabbing his hand.  
"Stay with me please?" I asked with tears glazing my eyes. He nodded and kissed my forehead; he lay down next to me and wrapped his arms around my waist.  
"Are you going to classes this week?" He asked in a whisper.  
"No, Fiona is letting me stay out of classes but I still have to do the work in my dorm." I mumbled. I put my head on his chest and started to close my eyes. I fell into a deep sleep and started to dream.  
_It was daylight and I was outside of the elementary school. I heard the faint ring of the bell signalling the end of the day; I saw all the kids pour out of the entrances and making their way over to parents._ _Amongst all the faces I could pick out a certain boys face, his face was full of laughter as he laughed at a joke one of his friends had told him. He made his was out of the gate and towards the road. I heard the car before I saw it. He stepped out onto the road and didn't see the car. It all happened in a fast blur. One minute he was standing and the next he was being hit by the car and left lying on the road. I could hear the screams erupting from my throat but no one else seemed to hear them. I could see the horrified looks on people's faces and hear the screams of the kids. I kept screaming as I saw my little brother lying on the cold, wet ground..._

I woke up screaming, with tears and sweat pouring down my face. I shot up and stopped screaming all the while gulping down air and trying to calm myself down. Blair who had been woken up by my screams started to help calm me down by hugging me and stroking my hair. I was silently crying and shaking from my nightmare.  
"Did you have a nightmare?" Blair questioned. I nodded against his shoulder. "Wanna tell me what it was about?"  
"I saw Cammy getting hit by the car." I said shakily. "I miss him so much Blair. I can't stand it, it's like there is something missing inside of me and it hurts so badly." I cried. He nodded in understanding.  
"It'll get better though. You just need time." He explained.  
"I think I'm gonna go for a shower." I stated whilst standing up from the bed. I looked over and noticed Kelsey wasn't there. "Where's Kelsey?" I asked.  
"She said she would sleep in the Twins' room tonight." He explained. I nodded and grabbed some clean clothes and went into the bathroom. I showered and got changed into the clean clothes I had brought in with me. I walked out and looked to Blair.  
"What time is it?" I asked.  
"Just after 8 o'clock. Is there anything you wanna do today?" He asked. It was Saturday so we didn't have any classes.  
"I want to go home and see my family. I told Alec that I wouldn't leave him and that I would see him real soon. I don't want to break that promise to him." I said. "Do you maybe want to come with me?" I asked.  
"Yeah, I'll come with you." He said while hugging me. "I just need to run to my dorm to change out of these clothes. You can come with me or stay here and I'll be back in ten minutes."  
"I'll stay here while you go."  
"Ok, I'll be back in ten minutes." He kissed me and left. I sorted myself out before we left. I pulled my hair up into a messy pony tail. I pulled on the hoodie that Cameron had bought me for my birthday; it was grey and on the back it had 'No. 1 Sister' and my name. I loved it more now than ever because it really reminded me of him. I was wearing a pair of my black baggy joggers and I pulled on my blue converse. I played with the necklace Blair had gotten me while I waited for him to come back.

After Blair had come back in clean fresh clothes we made our way to his car. I didn't want to drive so he said he would drive us. We drove mostly in silence until we reached my street. He pulled into the driveway where my car used to be parked. We got out and walked up to the door; even though I lived her (kinda but not really) I still knocked the door. I could hear the shuffling of someone coming towards the door. It swung open and revealed my Dad who gave a smile when he saw me on the doorstep. I started on a new round of tears when I saw him and hugged him. I grabbed Blair's hand silently as we walked into my old house. I led us into the living room and saw my mum sitting in one of the armchairs looking at pictures. I walked over to her and we had a small conversation.  
"I brought Blair if that's ok?" I said/asked.  
"Yeah that's ok." She said. "Alec was wanting you last night. He wouldn't stop crying. He'll be glad you're here."  
"Is he in his room?" I asked. My mum nodded her head. I silently left the living room. Blair didn't mind because he was talking with my dad. I wandered the familiar hall. I passed my parents room, then mine. I stole a quick look into my old room; it was exactly the same but bare. The walls were the same light blue with silver, red and purple paint splatters all over the place. All the stuff I had left was in its rightful place. I left the room and continued towards Alec's. I passed Cameron's and held myself together; I didn't take a look because I knew I would break down. I walked by it and then came to Alec's. I knocked lightly on the door and I heard a soft 'come in'. I opened the door and walked in. His face somewhat brightened when he saw me in the doorway.  
"I heard you were missing me last night." I said and he nodded while running to hug me.  
"Can you play on the Wii with me please Joanne?" He asked.  
"Of course! Maybe Blair could join us as well. He came along with me. Is that ok?" I asked, he nodded and he grabbed my hand dragging me out of his room and towards the game room that was downstairs next to my dad's office.  
"You set it up and I'll go get Blair." I ruffled his hair and left to go get my boyfriend. I walked into the living room to find my mum where she was but now watching TV and my dad and boyfriend over by the wall to the back of the house. This wall was what my dad called his glory wall. It had pictures of him in his high school days when he was on the football team; it also had pictures of me and my brothers because we were the most important thing to him as he said.  
"I see you've now seen the 'glory wall'." I giggled. They turned to me and Blair had a mischievous smile on his face.  
"You were a really cute baby." He smirked, I gasped. Oh no I forgot dad had pictures of us as babies on the 'glory wall'. I laughed it off and dragged him to the game room.

We played in the game room with Alec for a while but soon after we had to leave because we had been away from an adult vampyre for too long. I was sad to leave but I said I would be back soon. We got back in the car and made our way back to the House of Night. We arrived back and headed to my room; we entered the room and found the gang all ready hanging out in there.  
"Well looks like you had a good time. You know considering." Craig said. I smiled sadly.  
"Yeah, it was good. I spent time with my family and we hung out with Alec." I explained.  
"And Jo's dad showed me his 'glory wall'." Blair said with a laugh. I hit his shoulder playfully.  
"Hey! Don't diss the 'glory wall'." I giggled. We sat down and all my friends were asking about my family. I started talking about my family, telling them the funniest memories I had. I reminisced about Cammy and I was really teary at the end of it.

Even though I was empty from Cameron's death; I knew I would get through it with the help of my friends and family.

* * *

Two chapters in one day! Aren't you guys just lucky? I promised I would have another chapter up today and I have kept my promise.

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	15. Chapter 15

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

Over the next few days I was a mess. I had my friends and boyfriend to help me get through it; but it wasn't enough. They tried to get me to eat and come out of my room but I wouldn't. I would only sleep and do the class work that I had been given to do. I was a shell of myself and I was starting to worry everyone. I would just lie in my bed crying and staring at the picture of me, Cameron and Alec on holiday a year ago. We had gone to France and the picture was of the three of us in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was six days since he had been dead and I think my friends were really worrying about me now.  
"Joanne come on you have to get out of bed. Please." Craig said on day six.  
"I can't, I can't go back to my normal life when my little brother is DEAD!" I shouted. "He was only twelve! He had the whole of his life ahead of him. He was gonna go pro in football, he told me so!" I continued shouting. I felt good to get all this anger out of me. "I'm a mess, yeah ok; but he is... was my little brother! He shouldn't be dead!" I finally stopped venting my anger and cried. I was surprised that I still had tears after all the times I had been crying over the past week. Craig walked over and scooped me into a friendly, comforting hug.  
"Look, I know he shouldn't have died; but we can't control what happens in life. Sometimes something will happen that we want and other times something like this will happen. Life's a bitch like that. Even though it can tear us apart, we just have to pick ourselves up and continue with our lives." He said soothingly.  
"But what if I can't get on with my life?" I asked sounding so broken.  
"You will. You just need time to heal." He replied. I nodded.  
"Can we maybe go and get some food? I don't think Cameron would have liked me starving myself because I'm upset." I asked.  
"Sure. We can go to the cafeteria and meet up with the gang if you want?" He suggested.  
"If you don't mind I just wanna go down to the kitchen in the dorm. I don't think I can take everyone giving me sympathetic smiles like they understand." I said. He nodded in understanding and we made our way downstairs.

We reached the kitchen and I sat down at the table almost mechanically. Craig started to move around the kitchen making lunch for the both of us. He made us me a salad and himself a sandwich. I thanked him and started to eat the salad. We mostly sat in silence whilst eating; it was nice for a change. The past six days al I heard was the incessant chatter of my friends trying to get me out of my depression and the screams and laughs of the other fledglings passing by. We finished our lunch and Craig started to move about to put the dishes in the sink.  
"You ok now? Want anything else?" He asked.  
"I'm ok and no I don't want anything else. I think I'm gonna head out for a bit though. Go see my family. You can head back to the gang, I'll be fine." I said, he hesitantly nodded before getting up giving me a hug and leaving the girls dorm area. Soon after I picked myself up and went back to my dorm to freshen up. I pulled out some clean clothes and went to the bathroom to wash up. After my long shower, I emerged from the bathroom clean and fresh. I pulled on the clothes I had lain out. I had chosen a white summer dress and black leggings for underneath. The dress was really nice it was tight at the top but puffed out kind of at the waist and cut of about ¾ of the way down my thigh. On top of that I had a black cardigan and wore a pair of black small heels. I had left my hair in its natural waves; I grabbed my purse and left the room. I could hear my heels clicking on the wooden floor and I made my way to the main door. I walked through the courtyard in the fresh air taking in deep breaths and clearing my head. I passed the cafeteria and could hear the murmur of everyone chatting away with their friends; probably complaining about homework or boyfriend/girlfriend problems. That was the worst of their problems, for me it was dealing with my little brother being dead. I paused outside the large oak doors and thought; should I go in or should I not bother. I decided that five minutes with my friends wouldn't hurt. I took a few deep breaths before I entered preparing myself for what may or may not happen. I opened the large door and entered the busy cafeteria. It all went in slow motion kinda, I walked through the door and everyone stopped and turned to me. All I could see was a sea of faces trying to look sympathetic; I couldn't take it so I climbed up onto the nearest table to and started to speak.  
"Um...hi. I'm Joanne, as some of you may already have known. The other day my little brother died, and I'm trying to get over it. One of my friends told me recently that life can be a bitch to you and they were right." I could see Craig from afar smiling at this part. "You can't control what life is going to throw your way; if I could go back I would. I've now realised that sitting in my room crying won't bring my brother back; that he wouldn't want me to be doing that. So I appreciate that you all feel for me but I really don't need you to because no offense but none of you knew my brother. You didn't know what he was like so it's not as if it's your loss, its mine and I'm dealing with it. Slowly, yeah but I'm trying to move on. I would appreciate it if you treat me normal and not give me special treatment, like going silent when I walk into a room because that won't help me move on, it will only hold me back. Thanks!" I poured my heart out basically to a room full of people, half of which I didn't even know. I climbed off of the table and walked over to my friends. The room soon went from awkward silence back to the incessant chatter that I had heard before I entered the room.

I reached my friends and smiled. I sat down next to Kelsey and Blair.  
"Hey guys." I said. They all smiled back at me and we fell into conversation. It felt good to be out of my room and laughing with my friends again. When the bell rang for fifth hour I said goodbye to my friends as they all made their way to class, it was one o'clock in the morning now so it was out of the question to go see my family. I decided to go back to my room and write a speech that I wanted to say at Cameron's funeral. I reached my room and sat at my desk pulling out a pad of paper and a pen. I sat there for two hours writing the speech I was going to say. Every now and then I would scribble something out and change it. Before I knew it the school day had ended and the gang burst through the door in a fit of laughter. I paid no attention to them and continued with my writing. They all continued chatting and laughing while I finished my speech. When I finally finished it I turned to my friends.  
"Hey. Have a good day at school?" I asked.  
"Yeah it was good, would have been better if you were there." Blair said while wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing me. I giggled into the kiss.  
"Ok lovebirds, break it up!" Shaunee cried while laughing.  
"So we are going out to the movies tonight. You up for it Joanne?" Erin asked. I smiled.  
"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" I said. Once we had all covered up our marks we set off towards the parking lot. We decided to take my car and Shaunee's; she would take her, Erin and Craig in her car while I took Blair and Kelsey. We got into our designated cars and set off. Shaunee was in front of us so I just followed her car. We played music and chatted during the drive and after a ten minute drive we reached the cinema. We all clambered out and headed into the all night cinema. It was a fight as to what film we were going to see. It was finally decided that we were gonna go see '127 Hours'; we all bought our sweets, popcorn and drinks and made our way to our seats. I didn't like the movie at all in the end; halfway through it me and Blair stopped watching it and started making out. None of our friends noticed really because they were too busy watching the movie. The lights came up when the movie finished and we all made our way back to the cars. This time Craig came in my car because he didn't want to listen to the Twins talking about boys and clothes. So Kelsey and him switched; on the way back we done the same we played music and just chatted in general. We arrived back at the House of Night and the gang headed towards the dorms to watch some 'Project Runway'; I headed towards the tree in the courtyard and Blair came with me. I sat down by the tree and pulled out the speech I had written earlier. He sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around me.  
"What's that?" He asked looking at the piece of paper.  
"It's my speech that I'm going to say at the funeral. I'm also going to make a home movie with pictures of him." I explained.  
"Can I read it?" He asked in a small voice that was unusual for Blair. I nodded and handed him the page. He spent the next few minutes reading in silence. After he was finished reading it I turned to him and saw that he had a few tears pooled in his eyes.  
"Was that ok?" I asked.  
"That was beautiful, Joanne." He said truthfully.

We stayed outside for a while before going back inside. I went to my bed shortly after because I was tired. I knew I was going to hurt for a while but after today I knew that I would get through it.

* * *

Wow 15 chapters! I'm proud of myself. Chapter 16 will be up during the week hopefully.

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	16. Chapter 16

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

It was the day of the funeral. I had finished the home movie off last night, but today was the day. I was getting the day off school for it but I would have to be up in the middle of my night for it. Fiona also let the gang off for the day so they could come with me and Fiona herself was coming as we couldn't be far from and adult vampyre for long. I woke up at nine o'clock at night for me but in the morning for my family. I went into the bathroom first because Kelsey was still half asleep mumbling to herself about a duck. I swear to the Goddess I love her but she can be crazy at times. I showered and fixed myself up. I put on some mascara, eyeliner, blusher and lip gloss; my hair was down in soft curls. I walked out and went to my wardrobe and pulled out the black dress that I was going to be wearing. It was strapless and puffed out at the waist also on the waist it had a bow hanging loosely. I placed it on my bed and went to shake Kelsey to get her up.  
"Kelsey get up and stop mumbling about ducks. You need to get ready." I said quite loudly. She finally got up and made her way into the bathroom. When I heard the water start to run, I started to get dressed. I pulled on the dress and managed to do the zip up myself. I pulled on my black high heels and a black blazer on top of the dress. I grabbed my huge purse and checked I had everything; my speech, laptop and CD. By the time I was done checking myself and making sure I had everything Kelsey had exited the bathroom fully dressed. She was wearing a black blouse, black skirt and her black Ugg boots. She pulled on a jacket and we left downstairs to go get breakfast.

The Twins entered the kitchen shortly after we did. They were wearing identical outfits that consisted of a black dress that went to their knees and black flats. They had on cardigans as well. We mostly ate breakfast in silence what with the occasional comment or two. We made our way out of the dorm and into the fresh air. As we waited for the boys we did each other's cover up for our marks. The boys slowly walked up to us each in a black suit. After we all had our cover up on we made our way to Fiona's office; we reached the office and just as I went to knock the door it swung open to reveal Fiona. We all bowed to our High Priestess; she looked stunning, she had on a long black skirt and a black blouse. We briefly spoke before she led us towards the car park where a large black people carrier was waiting.  
"We shall be travelling to your house and from there we shall discuss who goes in what car and with whom." Fiona explained with a soft but firm tone. We all nodded and climbed into the car. The Twins sat in the back with Kelsey, Fiona sat up the front with the driver and that left me, Blair and Craig to sit in the middle section of the car. I sat in between the two boys both of the holding my hand comforting me. The car journey was mostly silent apart from the quite buzz of the radio. We reached my old home and we climbed out of the car. I led the way up the path and knocked on the door. It was Alec who answered the door and he smiled when he saw me. I gave a big hug and he led us into the house, we followed him to the living room where my parents were.  
"Mum!" I cried and ran to hug her. She welcomed me into the hug and kissed the top of my head.  
"Oh baby girl." She cooed. I stepped out of her embrace and she went to welcome everyone into her home. My friends all smiled and gave their condolences to her after that they all broke away from her and walked over and sat down on the sofas.  
"I'll be back in a minute." I said but Alec didn't want to stay he ran after me and grabbed my hand. I smiled down at him and pulled him along. I didn't know if he would want to follow me where I was going but when I stopped out of Cameron's room and looked down at him he didn't look hesitant at all.

Walking into Cameron's room was weird. He never really liked me in his room, always saying that it was his space. I let go of Alec's hand and walked further into the room, exploring it, memorising it as if it was going to disappear at any moment. I started to tear up looking around it. He had shelves all around the room most of them were filled with books; I always knew that he liked to read but that was a secret kind of. Trophies were also lined on the shelves; trophies and medals. All of which were for football. He loved his football; him and dad would go out every Saturday to the park and play football. I turned on the spot and walked out, Alec following behind me. It was all too much I couldn't go back in there. I made a detour and instead of going back to the living room I ran to my old room. I ran in and slammed the door shut locking it while doing so. I lay down on my bed and grabbed one of the pillows that was cluttering it, held it to my chest and cried. Today was going to be too much and I just added to that by going into his room. I could hear all the chatter and then I heard my dad's booming voice.  
"Blair why don't you go and see if you can get her out of her room." I could hear his footsteps getting closer to the door and they stopped. He knocked softly on the door. I didn't reply to it I just ignored it.  
"Joanne, come on open the door for me? Please." He pleaded. I considered it but went against it, I just wanted to be alone but yet I didn't at the same time. He knocked again. "Joanne, please we have to leave soon. We can just take baby steps. The first one being that you need to come out of your room." I took a shaky breath and sat up from the bed. I walked over to the dressing table and looked in the mirror. Some of my mascara had ran, I grabbed a tissue from the box that was on the table and wiped my eyes. They looked somewhat better but they were still red and puffy from crying. I slowly walked to the door and unlocked it, then walked back to the bed and sat down, closing my eyes as I did so. The door clicked open and revealed Blair. He walked through the now open door and closed it behind him. He walked over to the bed and I felt it sink down as he sat next to me. I opened my eyes slowly while taking deep but shaky breaths.  
"I don't know if I can get through today." I whispered sounding so broken.  
"Well, you have to. I know you don't but you have to, for Cameron, for your parents and for Alec. He's in the living room crying because he can't stand seeing his big sister like this. He's already lost his big brother, and he could end up losing you." He whispered turning towards me and leaning his forehead against mine.  
"Ok." I whispered, kissing him gently. "I'll do it; for Cammy, for my parents and Alec but also for you. You have helped me so much these past two weeks. You stood by me. Thank you." I pulled away and stood up holding my hand out to him. He grabbed it and we walked out of my room and towards the living room. I walked in slowly and was attacked by Alec. I hugged him and kissed the top of his head.

Another ten minutes and it was time to go. The hearse arrived and then two other cars followed behind. We all walked outside and I almost threw up when I saw the coffin through the window of the hearse. My brother was in there; what did he look like? What was he wearing? All these questions swirled around my head like water around a drain. I had Blair on one side of me and Alec tucked into the other side. My parents, Alec, Blair and I would be going in the first of the two other cars. Fiona, the Twins, Craig and Kelsey would be going in the second. I climbed in the car and situated myself in between Alec and Blair at the back of the car, my parents sat in the seats just in front of us. I had my massive purse on my lap; I took three deep, cleansing breaths and centred myself. Under my breath I said.  
"Spirit, please come to me. Give me and my family the strength we need to get through today. Thank you." I heard the soft gasp that escaped my mother as she felt spirit enter her and give her strength. The car journey was utter silence except from the soft sniffles coming from either me or my mum. We reached the graveyard and another sick feeling hit me. The cars parked and we all climbed out; Alec gripped my hand tighter as we walked toward where our brother would be buried. There was a massive crowd all ready gathered; there was also a podium set up for the people who were going to speak, there was also a table set up and a projector set up like I had requested.  
"I need to go set up my laptop. I'll be back in a minute." I spoke softly. Blair nodded in understanding and walked towards my parents. I tugged Alec along towards the table. I placed my bag on the table and opened it to pull out my laptop. I set it on the table connecting it to the projector. I switched it on and set everything up. I put the CD into my laptop and also set that up.  
"What's all this for?" Alec asked in a quiet voice.  
"Well the laptop is because I made a video with pictures of Cammy; a montage of his life kinda thing. The CD is because I'm going to sing a song for him but don't tell anyone. It'll ruin the surprise." I explained. He nodded in understanding. We walked back over to our parents who were situated at the front of the crowd closest to the grave.

The ceremony started and went on. Then it came to the time for me to say my piece. I walked up to the podium my heels clicking with every step almost deafening me. I hit the play button on my laptop and the montage began.  
"Um...hi. I'm Joanne, Cameron's big sister. Cameron, well what can I say really; I mean I had this big speech prepared but I though why bother. He would have loved it if it came from the heart even if I stumbled over my words and stalled trying to think of what to say." I gave a nervous laugh. "Well he was the best brother in the world next to Alec of course! He was big on believing in dreams. His was to be a professional football player, and I believed in him. I knew he would get there but I guess now we'll never know. He was really kind hearted, shy, funny and gorgeous. I knew he was going to be a ladies' man when he reached high school. I can't really think of anything else to say. Um... he lived a full life even though he died at twelve. I um... prepared a song that I want to sing for him. He would probably laugh at me and make a comment saying I was being sappy or something. I hope you enjoy it and sorry if I mess up." I finished and went over to my laptop sorting out the CD. I hit play and the backing track for Rascal Flatt's 'What Hurts The Most' filled the air. I opened my mouth and began to sing.

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house  
That don't bother me  
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out  
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while  
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me  
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok  
But that's not what gets me

What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away

And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do

It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go  
But I'm doin' it  
It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone  
Still harder, getting up, getting dressed, living with this regret  
But I know if I could do it over  
I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart  
That I left unspoken

What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away

And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do

I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while  
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me  
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok  
But that's not what gets me

What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away

And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do

What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away

And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do

* * *

Chapter 16. Well wasn't I busy this weekend producing **four** chapters for you lot! This week I am going to **TRY** and have a chapter uploaded everyday. If I can't then sorry but it will be because of school and such.

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	17. Chapter 17

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

After the ceremony, we all headed back to the cars. We were going to the local hotel for the reception. I climbed back into the car and settled myself whilst wiping away the tears that escaped from my eyes. The car journey wasn't silent this time, it was spent talking about how beautiful the ceremony was and how my mum thought that the flower arranging could have been improved. Even though it was talk about the funeral it was a start; we were starting to move on but not forgetting him completely. We arrived at the hotel and spent the next couple of hours socializing. I had to listen to people coming up to me and giving me their best wishes as if that would make everything better. I put on a brave face though and got on with it. After hour two I thought it was time that the gang, Fiona and I got back to the House of Night. I approached my mum first.  
"Hey mum. I think we're gonna take off. I want to stay longer but it's the middle of the night for us so it's best we get back." I explained.  
"That's fine. We'll see you at the next parents visit though?" she asked. I nodded my head and gave her a hug; I then went to find my dad and gave the same explanation. Now was the kinda hard part; saying bye to Alec for now. It was going to be hard because he hadn't left my side all day apart from when we arrived at the hotel and my mum gave him his PSP. I found him at a table near the back of the room, he was sitting silent with his head hung low playing his PSP. He looked up when he heard my heels clicking on the wooden floor.  
"Hey bud. Listen I have to get going now because I'm really tired and so is the gang." He nodded in understanding at this. "But I'll see you when you come visit me in a few weeks, yeah?" I asked and he nodded his head enthusiastically. "Hug goodbye?" He jumped up from his seat, PSP forgotten about and charged at me. I squeezed him tight and kissed the top of his head. "Remember you can call me whenever you want to, even just to hear my voice." I gave him another quick hug and left him to play his PSP.

The car ride back to the school was noisy which was really nice; it meant things would go back to normal. The Twins were shouting at Craig because he had said something that I wasn't sure of and it all kicked off from there. I silently laughed because it was normal, relaxing almost. I put my head on Blair's shoulder and shut my eyes. My dream was really weird.  
_ I was in the centre of a football field and all the bleachers were full with screaming fans. I could hear the cheerleaders chanting, smell the freshly cut grass and taste the hot dogs. The crowd roared as I heard the thundering footsteps. I turned and saw emerging from the tunnel at the far side of the field; I squinted my eyes and saw a football team. At the front was a tall guy, I couldn't see his face because he had his helmet on. The team ran up to centre field where I was and formed a circle around me. They were all huddled and discussing plays when the guy who was leading them removed his helmet. He had light brown hair that flopped down in front of his eyes but underneath his fringe I could see the piercing crystal blue that lay beneath. My breath hitched in my throat. This was Cameron! I was dreaming of him being a pro footballer. He looked so professional with his red and white equipment on and the way he spoke; he had such passion in his eyes. He looked about twenty judging on the look of his face. I smiled to myself, wondering if this could have come true. I looked around at the stadium. All the cheering fans half of which wearing red and white obviously supporters of my brother and his team. It started to fade away from me as the game started and that's when I woke up..._

I woke up in my room; it was pitch black so I had my eyes didn't hurt as the adjusted to the darkness. I tried to move over in my bed but something blocked me from doing so. I kicked whatever it was and I heard a groan. I fumbled around on my bedside table and finally found the switch for my lamp. I flickered on and as my eyes adjusted the familiar form of Blair appeared.  
"Oh my Goddess! I didn't know you were there. I'm so sorry that I kicked you I didn't mean to. Are you ok?" I asked through my babble.  
"Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry about it. I was so tired when I brought you in that I just crashed here. So what were you dreaming about?" He gave me a small smile. "I heard you mumbling in your sleep. Talking about football and hot dogs."  
"I don't know what it was meant to mean but I dreamt what it was like if Cameron was a pro footballer. He was the quarterback and team captain. Plus everyone in the stands was cheering for him!" I grinned as I recalled it.  
"That's great babe," He said while kissing my temple. "I bet he would have been an awesome football player!"  
"He would have been great!" I whispered more to myself than to Blair. I lay myself against his chest and relaxed at his touch as he ran the fingers of one of his hands through my hair whilst the other hand entwined with mine. We spent the next few hours in bed just talking about nothing in particular, it was nice, relaxing.  
"I'm ready to go back to school." I burst out with. I looked up at Blair and he had happiness and shock written all over his face.  
"Really? I though you would be out of school for a little while more." He asked.  
"Well I was but I need to move on. He wouldn't want me to be holed up for ages not doing anything. I need to get back to school, back into my normal routine." I explained, he said nothing more after that and we fell back into our relaxation.

We finally emerged from my room in time to head to the cafeteria for dinner. We met up with the gang on the way there and started chatting animatedly about what we had done that day. It started while in the queue for dinner. I was talking to Kelsey when I felt it; the dizziness. I ignored it at first and continued moving forward and then getting my dinner. As we made our way to our table in the far away corner of the room, it got worse. It clouded my vision and I could feel the thumping in my head. It grew louder and louder with each step. I couldn't make it to the table; I felt myself falling and heard a scream before everything went black. I felt like I was in the darkness for hours before my eyes succumbed to the light again. I had a banging headache and opening my eyes to the bright florescent lights. I was really worried because this had been the second time I had passed out since being Marked. I blinked a few times to clear the blotches that had crowded my vision.  
"Joanne! Joanne!" I could hear Blair worriedly calling my name.  
"What happened?" I asked croakily, clearing my throat afterwards.  
"You fainted. One minute you were standing..." Erin started to explain.  
"And the next you were on the floor!" Shaunee finished.  
"It was scary!" Kelsey exclaimed. I looked around the room to find everyone staring at me, then the doors swinging open and Fiona closely followed by some of the medical vamps rushing up to me. When she reached where I was sat Fiona knelt down to my level and looked straight into my eyes.  
"Are you ok Joanne? I have some of the medical team to help me take you to the medical room. You can stay there until you feel better and then if classes are still in session you may go back to class." She explained, all the while that she was talking I wasn't paying attention. My focus was on the mysterious figure at the far end of the room.

Three days later and I was better. The couple of days after my incident I was stuck in my room ill with a high fever and being sick. I hated it because I had already missed out on so much of school and I had to miss even more because I was sick. It was alright though because my friends always brought me my homework (I was kind of happy about it) and kept me up to date on all the gossip that was spreading around the school. I was really interested in the gossip, whenever the girls mention that they had more chat for me the two boys would just make an excuse and run for it, it always left me laughing though. According to the Twins, there had been a fledgling death, a transfer student and Aphrodite being put in her place by Kelsey! The whole Aphrodite thing was her making fun of me for fainting and how I was being too dramatic over Cameron, Kelsey had overheard and started screaming and shouting at her saying she had no right to say stuff like that because she had never lost a brother or sister before. I was really proud and happy because she had stuck up for me. The new transfer student had came here from the House of Night in Ohio and if what the Twins had told me ended up to be true then he was apparently HOT! Going back into classes after being away for a further three days was weird again. It was like being the new girl all over again because everyone was staring at me as if I was some sort of weirdo. I didn't care though I just held my head high and kept walking ignoring all the whispers. I walked into Vamp Sociology and saw a new guy sitting in the seat that was directly in front of mine, I didn't recognize him so he must have been the transfer. I put the pieces together and figured out that he must have been the mysterious figure that day in the cafeteria.

Little did I know that this transfer kid was going to cause my world to be turned upside down even further in the distant future.

* * *

GUYS! I am sooo sorry that I havent uploaded in absolute ages! I have just been so busy with school, exams and all that sort of stuff! Here is chapter 17, I hope you enjoy it and I am really sorry if it isn't as good as the others but I was trying to write this whilst revising for exams. I will be back to posting chapters when I can and if I don't then don't worry because I will have a chapter soon. Again really sorry! Please review! :) xxx

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	18. Chapter 18

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

I woke up and groaned as I stretched out. I took me a few moments to finally process what today was. My birthday! I was so excited at the prospect of now being 17. I had been at the House of Night for seven months; yeah it had really been that long although it didn't feel as long. Also in the months I had been here I had acquired even more tattoos. The new ones spread over my face like a changed vampyre's would do and then trailed down my back. When I had received them I was shocked and amazed at how beautiful they were. I sat up in my bed and searched the room for two things: Kelsey and my cat. A few months back when I had been out for a walk a cat had found me and chosen me. I was really happy to have a cat choose me. I named him Infinity; I thought it was a really awesome name for him and it actually quite suited him. He was an all black cat apart from one of his tiny paws that was white. There was no sight of either of them in the room so I decided to take my time getting ready. I dragged myself out of bed and towards the bathroom where I spent the next half hour having a shower and doing my hair and make-up. I then trailed out into the room and towards my wardrobe where I pulled out my new red satin dress that had a black bow wrapped around the waist, and a pair of red heels to match. I got dressed and swiftly left the room. Outside the door on the floor was a note along with a red rose. I picked it up and smelt the rose then opened the note to find a message in Blair's messy but at the same time neat scrawl.

_Happy Birthday baby! The gang have a surprise for you so you need to follow the rose petals that will lead you to us. See you soon. I love you! xx_

I found it really sweet and romantic. I then looked down the hall to find a path of petals and smiled to myself. I took off following them; they led me through the dorm and out the door into the fresh air. I kept walking and soon started to wish I had brought a jacket, even though vamps couldn't feel the cold most of the time I was still quite cold. I stopped in my tracks when I heard a rustle behind me. I spun around just in time to see Infinity leap out from within a nearby bush. I smiled and then watched as he trotted towards me and hopped into my awaiting arms. I cooed towards him and scratched him behind the ears and we set off along the petal path. Two minute later and I was standing in from of the Rec Hall. I walked up the steps and made my way towards the large door; gripping Infinity closer to me I pushed open the door and stepped into the pitch black hall. I stood inside the dark hall wondering where my friends could be when I was blinded by lights and deafened by shouts.  
"SURPRISE!" My friends all screamed and charged at me for hugs. I placed Infinity on the ground and he walked off to a far corner where he lay down and just watched the scene before him. I looked around the room whilst I was being crushed by my friends with hugs and saw that most of the people in our year where there.  
"You guys!" I started to speak and almost started to cry. "You shouldn't have. I have the best friends ever!" I exclaimed.  
"Damn right you do!" Erin stated while laughing. I detached myself from the crushing hug I was receiving from Kelsey to turn towards Blair. I walked up to him and kissed him soundly on the lips before resting my head on his chest.  
"Thank you for the note and rose, I loved it." I said. He kissed the top of my head.  
"Anything for my girl." He replied.

Shortly afterward the party got into full swing I spent most of the time dancing around with my friends and talking to people and thanking them for coming. It was an awesome party and the cake that my friends had got was amazing. It was a chocolate cake but on the top of it they had got a photo of us all printed in icing. The picture was one that was taken a few weeks back. We had been out at the park, just sitting around with ice-cream and chatting about utter rubbish. We all ended up with ice-cream all over us after Craig and put some on Kelsey's face after that it turned into a full on ice-cream war. We all looked ridiculous; Shaunee had taken her camera out and gotten a nearby stranger to take our picture; it was all of us covered in different flavours of ice-cream. It was a tiny bit embarrassing that they had chosen that picture but hey it was a good one of us all. The party started to die down and then everyone left just leaving the gang plus Infinity. We tidied up before each of us grabbing a pile of presents and heading back to the dorm. I sighed with relief as I lay down the presents I was carrying at the end of my bed. I sat on the bed and watched as my friends all unloaded their arms and sat down in various places.  
"So you gonna open your presents?" Craig asked, I gave him a Cheshire cat grin and nodded.  
"Of course I am!" I said while grabbing a pile of parcels and laying them in front of me. Half an hour later and I had opened all the presents apart from the ones the gang had gotten me. The presents I had gotten so far ranged from money to clothes to perfume.

After opening those presents' my friends were all but throwing the ones they had gotten me in my face. I started with the present the Twins had gotten me. I tore off the sparkly pink paper to reveal a big white box I lifted the lid and found a pair of stunning black leather boot inside. I pulled them out and looked them over; they were amazing, they were zip up and were at least three inches. I smiled at them and said thank you. I moved on to Craig's present. It was wrapped really nicely in blue paper with a silver ribbon; I almost didn't want to open it! I carefully but quickly opened it and it revealed a small box; I lifted the lid to find a sterling silver bracelet. I lifted it out and held it in the palm of my hand. It had four charms on it already: one was the number 17, another was a small jewellery box, a four leaf clover came next (because I'm half Irish) and the last one was a Pacman charm (cause I love me some Pacman!). It was absolutely gorgeous and I put it on straight away.  
"Craig, it's gorgeous! Thank you so much!" I all but squeaked. I moved on to Kelsey's present and I tore off the dark blue paper to reveal a new handbag. It was a black Juicy Couture with silver embellishment. I crushed her in a hug because that was exactly what I was wanting. The last present I got was from Blair I smiled as he placed two parcels in my hands. The first was quite large and the second was really small. I opened the large one first tearing off the light pink paper which then showed a box. Slowly I lifted the lid and saw a blue photo album; confusing written all over my face I lifted it out of the box and opened it. I softly gasped at the pictures that I saw. They were all of me, and Cameron from when we were little. They started off with pictures of him as a new born and me looking proud as I held my little brother, then as they went on you could gradually see us start to age with each photo. I felt the tears slowly run down my cheeks and turned to Blair. I attacked him in a hug and kissed him on the lips.  
"Thank you so much! This means so much to me." I cried. "How did you get all the photos?" I asked  
"I went to your parents and explained what I wanted to do for your birthday. They also gave me some home movies as well; they are in DVD form in the back of the album." He smiled softly as he finished speaking. I could feel the breath being knocked out of me as he smiled. "Open the second present." I nodded and turned to the small box that was lying in my lap.

I ripped the paper off with shaky hands and when all the paper was discarded and on the floor I was left with a small, blue velvet box. I couldn't breathe; he wasn't about to do what I think he was going to do. Was he? I felt the box being gently pulled out of my hands and then Blair was on the floor in front of me. I looked up to find that all my friends had left the room. Even Infinity had left. I looked back at Blair and he was smiling at me with the small box in his hand. He opened the lid and my breath caught in my throat. Inside the box was a single silver band with a clear crystal stone in the middle.  
"This isn't an engagement ring so don't worry." He started off while laughing "This ring is a promise. A promise to you that I will love you and only you forever. This ring will serve as a proof of my love and my promise. My promise that I will only love you and that I really do want to spend the rest of my life with you because I love you more than anything in this world. You are my world and I love you..." He was cut off by me crushing my lips against his. I had tears running down my face; I was so happy. We pulled apart and he had a massive grin spread across his face. "So will you wear it?" He asked. I nodded furiously as he slipped the ring on my finger. It was placed on the ring finger that was on my right hand. I couldn't stop looking at it; it was absolutely stunning. This had been the best birthday ever and I was getting more presents tomorrow when I went to see my family and Blair and Kelsey were coming with me.

Best day of my life aside; little did I know things were about to get rocky in almost every aspect of my life mainly my love life.

* * *

Here is yet another chapter! Hope you enjoy this as much as I did to write it. Review please! xx

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


	19. Chapter 19

House of Night: My Story Joanne Clarke

The cold air slammed against my whole body as I exited the doors to head towards class. I bustled through the crowds trying to get to the corridor for Vampyre Sociology well before the bell rang. It's what I done all the time now, sometimes the gang would join me but today they were all being lazy and taking their sweet ass time with getting ready for class. I rushed in through the door and shivered as the warmth hit me like a ton of bricks. I heard him before I saw him. He cleared his throat and I literally jumped about ten feet tall.  
"Sorry if I scared you." The boy said.  
"It's fine; I'm just normally the first one in here." I gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry I don't mean to be rude but who are you? I mean I recognize your face because I've seen you around school and you sit in front of me but we have never been properly introduced." I started spewing out my babble. The boy rose from his seat and started to laugh as he made his way towards me.  
"Hi, I'm Stuart. And you are?" He introduced.  
"Um... You haven't heard about who I am." I said then took a double take of what I had just said and how it must have sounded. "No, no, no! I didn't mean it like I'm some sort of spoilt bitch who thinks that everyone needs to know who she is. I just meant that everyone knows who I am because of my marks and affinities. I'm kinda the school freak but at the same time the school celebrity." I explained myself.  
"Well, I've been kind of withdrawn from the school gossip since I transferred here." He replied.  
"Oh well in that case. I'm Joanne." I smiled warmly at him. "So how long is it that you have been at the school?" I asked.  
"Um... about 6 and a half months now." He answered.  
"Wow! I've been here seven months. I had to deal with a lot though in my first month here." I was interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around my waist. I smiled softly to myself. "Hey Blair!" I exclaimed. I turned in his arms and placed my lips against his. "Blair this is Stuart. Stuart this is my boyfriend Blair." I saw the hurt that flashed through Stuart's eyes when I said boyfriend but it left as quickly as it came.

By lunch, there was a new member to the gang, in a sense. I had asked Stuart if he wanted to sit with me and my friends at lunch and he had accepted. I hadn't really taken the time earlier to take in his appearance fully. It was just the two of us at the table for now. I looked closely at his features. He had sandy blond hair that was short and stuck up on all ends but was really nice, his eyes were a misty blue colour and even though he was sitting I noticed earlier that he was taller than me a lot but not by too much. He was well built as well. We were just sitting in chatting waiting for the others to arrive. The whole time that we were sitting there, I hadn't touched my food instead I had been playing with my promise ring. I had recently noticed that on the inside of the ring there was an inscription that read:

_Together for always xx_

I had found it really romantic when I saw it. Stuart noticed me being quiet and looked at me.  
"Is everything ok?" He asked.  
"Yeah, I was just thinking about some stuff. Sometimes I don't like to talk with my friends because I feel that I ask too much of them. They have been my whole support system these past few months. If you understand, I don't expect you too not everyone has to go through what I did." I answered.  
"Well maybe sometimes you don't always have to talk with friends. Sometimes it's easier to talk to an outsider to your life." He explained.  
"That's exactly how I feel. I mean I can't talk to my parents because it's hard enough for them to deal with this and I feel as if I'm annoying my friends by wanting to get it off of my chest. I can't just bottle my feelings up for the rest of my life." I started to open up to this boy who I had only known for a few hours. We were shortly interrupted by the gang sitting down to join us.

By the end of the day I was really tired and didn't want to do my homework. I was walking along the pathway that led towards the dorms when I suddenly stop. I felt a cold chill go down my spine and also got the feeling that I wasn't alone like I had been before. I quickly spun around on the spot and as a result of that I tripped over my feet and felt my butt slam against the hard, cold ground. I blinked a few times before I looked up and was staring into misty blue eyes. It was Stuart.  
"Hey." He spoke with his moderately deep voice.  
"Um...hi." I said. He offered his hand to help me up; I grabbed it with ease and was lifted to my feet. I dusted my hands off on my jeans then looked back at him. "So what class did you just have?" I asked curious as to why he was walking this way as well.  
"I had archery. I'm not that good at it but I thought why not. Another skill for me." He said. We started walking and fell into step with each other. "So earlier when you were saying that not everyone has to go through what you did, what did you mean by that?" He asked. "That is if you don't mind me asking."  
"Well I uh. Um... my brother died in a hit and run accident. It was hard on me cause we were really close, the whole experience brought me closer to my youngest brother Alec. That's what I meant by not everyone has to go through what I did. It was a horrible experience and I was so withdrawn from everything, I think that's why my friends were so worried." I explained my story all the while with a massive lump in my throat. I refrained from crying, I had cried too much over the past months.  
"That's gotta be tough. That's all I can say really I don't have any experience with deaths in my family that I've been around for." Stuart said a bit awkwardly. We continued with our small awkward silence until we reached the dorms.  
"Well, I better get in. I have a ton of homework that needs to be done if I ever want to hang with my friends again." I laughed at my own words hoping I didn't sound too stupid.  
"Yeah, I know what you mean; the homework you get here is like truckloads!" He joked back. I smiled in his direction before turning away from him and slipping through the door.

I was in my bed sleeping when my phone rang out in the silence, signalling at new message. Hoping it hadn't woken up Kelsey I reached blindly for my phone and once it was in my grasp I looked at the screen. It was a message from Alec, who I had recently bought a phone for, so he could call me if he ever needed to. I flipped my phone open and clicked on the message; what I saw was something that made me feel uneasy.  
_'Mom and Dad are fighting again. Can you come and get me?_'  
For only having recently getting a phone he was able to use it pretty well. I didn't like the message at all though. Over the past few months they had been fighting, and me and Alec were starting to get worried that they were going to get divorced. I checked the time and it was 4 o'clock. I would be getting up in a few hours anyway it was Friday night so we didn't have school tomorrow. I got up and quickly washed, done my hair and make-up then got dressed. I pulled on a short black skirt, a white vest top, and a black waistcoat. After scraping my hair back into a tight ponytail that was high up I grabbed my black Ugg boots and blindly pulled them on as well. Before grabbing my cell phone, purse and car keys; I had to put on my cover up for my marks. Once I was finally ready I quietly made my way out of the door and into the courtyard. The sun was still up and it was starting to hurt my eyes so I pulled out my sunglasses and slid them onto my face. Walking through the courtyard I took a deep breath of the cool crisp air and let it fill my lungs. I wasn't paying attention when it happened. I had walked right into someone. I groaned because I had hit my head off of the other persons. I looked up and stared straight into misty blue eyes. Oh great I had just basically head bitted Stuart!  
"I am so sorry Stuart. I was just in my own world and I'm in a hurry to get to my car and I... I just really need to get somewhere." I babbled, that was becoming a natural occurrence when I was around this guy.  
"Its fine I wasn't paying attention either so it's both our faults." He laughed. I didn't laugh though I couldn't get sucked into a conversation with him I need to get Alec. I turned to him.  
"I'm really sorry but I have to be somewhere, I'm on my way to pick my brother up. If you want you can come along for the ride and say why it's both our faults." I gave a small smile, cursing in my head why I had just invited him with me. He nodded his head and I started to walk towards the parking lot again except this time a lot faster. Stuart almost having to jog to keep up with me. I got to my car and unlocked it climbing in to the driver's side, Stuart jumping in on the other side. We drove mostly in silence by the time we reached my old house it was half four. I turned to Stuart.  
"I'll be about five minutes; do you want to come in instead of waiting here?"  
"Um...I'll wait here." He answered. I walked up to the door and I used my old key to open the door. I walked in and I was met with the shouting of my parents in the living room. I turned to the staircase and saw Alec sitting on the third step from the bottom, a blue duffle bag next to him.

After quickly explaining to my parents that Alec wanted to spend the weekend with me. They had said ok and as soon as that was said Alec flew out the door and into the car. I had been a bit slower to walk out of the house; I was at the front door when I heard their fighting kick up again. I sighed and walked out the door closing it softly behind me. I climbed back into the car and turned to look at Alec.  
"You got everything bud?" I asked and he nodded his head. I then looked at his confused expression at Stuart. "Oh Alec, this is Stuart. Stuart this is my brother Alec." They both mumbled a hello and then the car went silent again. I started up the car and headed back to the school. Parking the car I climbed out and the two boys followed me. I grabbed Alec's hand as we walked towards the courtyard. Stuart falling in step with us. I looked at him sideways.  
"So what were you doing up so early?" I curiously asked.  
"Oh I was practising Archery. I kinda failed on one of the moves we were taught so I thought I would practise it." I nodded in understanding. In my first few months I had often snuck out to practise my riding skills with Toby. We just chatted in general and Alec joined in some of the conversation. We reached the dorms and split up. Me and Alec going into the girl's dorm and Stuart heading to the boys dorm. I opened the door and let Alec run in first then walked in after him, leading him into the kitchen I made him something for his dinner then we climbed up the stairs and headed towards my dorm. Once we were in the room and settled it was 6 o'clock; even thought it was Friday and he was eight he still had to be in bed by half nine. I turned to look at him.  
"Alec, this is still night time for me so I'm going to just lie down for an hour or two before I get up for the day, by then it should be around about time for you to go to bed." I explained, he nodded in understanding and pulled out his PSP.

I lay down in my bed, not knowing what the future was going to hold for me.

* * *

Chapter 19! I am so sorry that I haven't uploaded in ages but I have had a lot going on lately and I haven been writing other stories! I will try to upload as quick as I can. Check out my other stories on my page please. :) xx

LiveLikeThere'sNoTomorrow (:


End file.
